France and Mali signed a new defence pact on Wednesday, an agreement that will let Paris maintain its prominent role in a former colony whose desert north was occupied by al Qaeda-linked rebels until they were defeated by French troops last year. France has sought to wind down direct involvement in former colonies in Africa, where troops frequently intervened during the decades after independence. The new pact, a defence cooperation treaty that replaces a 1985 agreement, outlines the framework for French intelligence sharing, training and equipping of Malian troops.
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