Egypt’s UN ambassador Amr Aboulatta led a meeting between the three African countries in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday.

The meeting, which primarily focused on regional security issues and the conflict in Mali, included the UN ambassadors from Angola and Senegal.

Malian prime minister Modibo Keita, who is currently visiting the UN to attend a special session on the conflict in his home country, also attended the meeting.

While discussing recent developments in the Mali conflict, Keita emphasised the importance of the international community’s support for his country so that stability may be restored.

Aboulatta said that Mali’s stability and an end to their internal conflict is one of Egypt’s primary foreign policy goals and is an important issue for all African countries in the UN.

Islamic militants seized cities in northern Mali in 2012. French troops helped to restore the area back to Mali’s control a year later. Despite this, French forces in Mali and UN peacekeeping units have failed to prevent further attacks by extremists in parts of the country, which are threatening Mali’s stability.

Earlier in June, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged the UNSC to add 2,500 soldiers to the UN peacekeeping units in Mali after a series of deadly attacks.