EU Sends 90 Million Euros in Aid for Mali

The European Commission on Tuesday made a first payment of 90 million euros ($118 million) to Mali, as part of an aid package to bolster the troubled country and recognize democratic progress.

The money is part of a 523-million-euro package announced by the Commission at a donor conference last month and comes ahead of Mali's presidential election set for July 28.

"This first substantial payout under the state-building contract... illustrates the progress made by Mali in implementing the roadmap for transition to democracy," EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said.

"The payment will help to restore democracy and the rule of law across the country and support the Malian state in stepping up its activities in sectors that directly benefit the population, such as health, education, food security and job creation," he said.

A total of 3.3 billion euros in aid were pledged at the "Together for a new Mali" conference in Brussels on May 15.

Tuesday's announcement came as a Malian defense ministry official told Agence France Presse in Bamako that around 700 EU-trained soldiers have been deployed to war-torn Mali's desert north.

The contingent -- the first from the European Union Training Mission in Mali -- left for the northeastern city of Gao on Monday, the official said on condition of anonymity.