We celebrated the event a few days early here in Bamako, with a few hundred of our Malian friends. Ambassador Hankins took the opportunity to thank our many partners in the Malian government, international organizations, cultural institutions and all sectors of civil society for their excellent cooperation over the past year. The Ambassador’s remarks note that the US Constitution begins with the words “We, Peuple des Etats-Unis, en vue de former une plus plus parfait”, to underline that the USA still has a lot of work to do to achieve our vision fulfill, just all democracies. must constantly strive to make their governments better serve their people, just as Mali is now trying to do with his return to elected civilian rule. July 4, 2022 marks the 246th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America. Both Ambassador Hankins and Minister Ag Ilyen spoke of the great results we will achieve when the United States and Mali work together. From vaccination programs to joint scientific research on malaria, from primary literacy programs to advanced university research programs, from food security to economic growth, from the fight against terrorism to the promotion of good governance, the ambassador and minister independently illuminated the many ways Mali continues to cooperate even among our differences.
