A ceremony for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Government of Mali and the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI) took place during the fourth edition of Franco-Mine, an event that took place alongside the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2015 convention, held in Toronto in early March. 

The governance-strengthening program is one of the initiatives supported by CIRDI and funded by the Government of Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. It is implemented by Polytechnique Montréal, one of the CIRDI consortium's three member universities, along with University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. 

Left to right: Daniel Dumas, Executive Director, Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI); Dr. Boubou Cissé, Mali Minister of Mines; and Line Dubé, Director of Polytechnique Montréal's International Relations Office (IRO).  

This program's objective is to support the efforts of the Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine (West African Economic and Monetary Union — UÉMOA) and its member states to promote an extractive sector that is transparent, integrated, and environmentally, economically and socially responsible. 

The program comprises three components:

- Support for building the capacities of UÉMOA – Sector-based sub-regional strategy;
- Support for building the capacities of government bodies (central, regional and local) – sector-based planning, inter-departmental co-ordination, and support for capacity-building;
- Support for strengthening the capacities of the other players in the mining sector/hubs.

The program's ultimate outcome will help sub-regional and national institutions to become better equipped to optimize the benefits of the extractive sector and stimulate sustainable economic growth that will reduce poverty. 

Intermediate results:

- UÉMOA and its member states will be equipped with the means to work together to support the sustainable and equitable strengthening of sector governance in the sub-region;
- Government bodies (national, regional and local) will be better equipped to govern and manage the extractive sector in a sustainable and equitable way;
- Stakeholders (government, private sector and civil society) will have the knowledge and the dialogue mechanisms necessary for working together and implementing integrated development programs where each takes on its share of social responsibility.

Left to right: Ghislain Rivard, Senior Advisor, Polytechnique Montréal International Relations Office (IRO) and Richard Simon, Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, undergraduate, Polytechnique Montréal; Louis de Lorimier, Ambassador of Canada to Mali; Line Dubé, Director of the Polytechnique Montréal International Relations Office (IRO); Dr. Boubou Cissé, Mali Minister of Mines; and Daniel Dumas, Executive Director, Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI).

See also:

International Relations Office (IRO)
Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI)