1. The Level-2 mobile hospital* which the government of the Republic of Korea, in cooperation with the African Union (AU), had worked to install in the African country of Mali officially opened on July 4.

* (Level-2 hospital) According to the standards of the UN, a Level-2 hospital performs 3-4 basic surgeries and treats 40 outpatients per day, and admits 10-20 patients.

(mobile hospital) It is a medical facility built with containers that can be moved. It was manufactured in the ROK, transported by sea and road to Mali, an inland country, and installed in the country.

o The installation of the hospital is part of a project to follow up on the pledge made by the ROK government to donate a Level-2 medical facility to Africa through the African Union at the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping in September 2015 in order to build Africa’s capacity in peace operations. The hospital was donated through the AU Peace Fund.

o Upon the request of the AU, the ROK government decided to set up the hospital in Gao, Mali, experiencing difficulties due to the unstable political and security situation, and a shortage of healthcare infrastructure.

※ The civil war in Mali that broke out in 2013 ended with the signing of a peace agreement in June 2015. However, due to the continuing armed attacks and terrorist acts by forces opposing the peace agreement and jihadists mainly in the central and northern regions of Mali, the international community, including the UN peacekeeping force (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali: MINUSMA), and Mali and French troops, is carrying out peacekeeping operations. / Gao is 1,300 km north of Bamako, the capital of Mali.

2. The opening ceremony was attended by high-level officials from the Mali government, the AU, and the UN, including the Defense Minister and the Health Minister of Mali, the head of the AU Peace and Security Council, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Mali and head of MINUSMA, as well as local residents. The participants expressed appreciation for the ROK government’s support. Deputy Director-General for International Organizations of the Foreign Ministry Chung Byung-ha, who attended the ceremony on behalf of the ROK government, extended congratulations on the opening of the hospital, and spoke highly of cooperation and support from the Mali government, the AU, and the UN.

o In his congratulatory remarks, the Mali Minister of Defense said that the hospital gave hope to local residents, facing difficulties due to continuing terrorist attacks and a lack of medical infrastructure, and expressed appreciation for the ROK government’s support.

o The head of the AU Peace and Security Council said that the hospital project not only symbolized the Korean people’s solidarity and friendship with Africa, but also demonstrated that cooperation between the ROK and the AU had taken a leap forward, and spoke highly of the ROK government’s support.

3. The hospital will provide medical services to Mali troops and UN peacekeepers conducting peacekeeping operations in Mali, as well as local residents. Its management and operation will be overseen by the AU and the Mali government. The hospital is expected to strengthen the region’s capacity in peace operations, and contribute to improving residents’ access to healthcare services.

4. The government of the ROK, as a responsible country leading global peace, will continue to increase its roles in the area, while contributing to peace and security in Africa through the donation of the Level-2 hospital, as well as the dispatch of an engineering unit to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) (from 2013 till present).

o The hospital project especially holds significance, as it is an exemplary case of cooperation between the ROK and the AU, and diversifies the ROK’s contributions to peacekeeping operations (PKO).

* unofficial translation