France has cancelled $68.7 million (64.8 million euros) in debt owed by Mali, a west African former colony where French forces have helped fight off Islamist militants.
The French finance ministry said the debt, which dates from 1984 and was initially the equivalent of 229 million euros, was due to its rejoining the CFA franc backed by the French treasury.
The amount has since 2007 been dealt with by a debt swap mechanism with a pay-back date in 2019.
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin announced the decision Thursday in Bamako, where he was taking part in a meeting of ministers of countries using the franc, according to the official Twitter account of the Malian presidency.
Malian Finance Minister Mamadou Igor Diarra had asked at the last meeting of the ministers for a simpler mechanism for handling the debt.
"The best way to simplify is to cancel," said Sapin, announcing the cancellation of the remaining debt, according to a message sent to AFP on Friday.
France led an international military intervention in 2013 to oust jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda from northern Mali.
