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Republik
Mali |
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A republic in West Africa. Formerly the
French Sudan, Mali joined Senegal in 1959 to form the independent
Federation of Mali. Senegal withdrew from the federation in 1960, and
Mali, which called itself the Sudanese Republic during its union with
Senegal, proclaimed its independence as the Republic of Mali. Mali
maintained a carefully neutralist policy until 1968, accepting economic
aid from both the Western and communist blocs. After 1968, Mali followed a
pro-communist foreign policy under President Amadou Toumani Traore, until
his ouster in 1991. Famine in 1973-74 and drought in the 1980s have
plagued the country.
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