PSC/AHG/COMM/2.(CCCLIII) Page 4 and encourages the Chairperson of the Commission to continue and intensify the efforts being deployed towards the implementation of the Strategic Concept. In this respect, Council welcomes the sustained efforts of the AU High Representative for Mali and Sahel, former President Pierre Buyoya, including his visits to Mali and other countries in the region. Council further welcomes the steps being taken to enhance AU’s presence on the ground, and requests the urgent operationalization of the AU Liaison Office in Bamako; 13. Requests the Commission to develop, in consultation with the Government of Mali, ECOWAS, as well as bilateral and multilateral partners, a strategy for post-conflict reconstruction in Mali, as part of the AU Strategy for Sahel, as endorsed by Council at its 314th meeting held in Bamako on 20 March 2012 [PSC/MIN/DECL.(CCXIV)], as well as within the framework of the African Solidarity Initiative (ASI); 14. Stresses the need for the early operationalization of the African Standby Force (ASF) Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC), within the framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). In this respect, Council requests the Commission to submit to it a report on progress made and challenges encountered, ahead of the 21st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa, in May 2013; 15. Decides to remain actively seized of the situation, and requests the Chairperson of the Commission to submit to it monthly reports on the evolution of the situation in Mali.