The run-off of the presidential election of Mali will take place on August 11. The first round of elections was held on July 28, in which none of the contesting candidates won an absolute majority.
Two government officials, former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of the Rally for Mali Party will face former Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse of the Union for the Republic and Democracy Party in this vote. In the first round of elections, Keita won 39% of the votes and Cisse won 19%. Around 51% of the electorate cast their vote in the first election since the 2012 coup – a high number by Malian standards.
India and Mali have traditionally maintained warm political relations. Both countries have commonality in membership of numerous international organizations, including the Non Aligned Movement. Amadou Toumani Toure, now former President, visited India on the first-ever state visit of a Malian President to India in January 2012.
Mali offers good opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs and investors, especially in the fields of agriculture (cotton, food processing, abattoirs and tanneries), automobiles (two-wheeler segment), mining (gold, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, zinc, manganese, tin and copper) and pharmaceuticals (generic drugs).