the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE); National
Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL]; Party
for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for
National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME]; Patriotic Movement for
Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or
RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA]; Sudanese
Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE];
Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY];
Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

other: the army; Islamic authorities; rebels in the northern region;
state-run cotton company CMDT; tuaregs

International organization participation:

ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO,
ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional),
WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950
FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Gillian A. MILOVANOVIC
embassy: located just off the Roi Bin Fahad Aziz Bridge just west of
the Bamako central district
mailing address: ACI 2000, Rue 243, Porte 297, Bamako
telephone: [223] 270-2300
FAX: [223] 270-2479

Flag description:

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red;
uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy
Mali

Economy - overview:

Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its
land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal
distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the
riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is
nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and
fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm
commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable
to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along
with gold. The government has continued its successful
implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program
that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and