Launch of the Fourth International Forum on China’s Taklamakan Desert and the First of its Kind in Africa
Nouakchott
Nouakchott, December 14, 2025 (MNA) – the Minister of Trade and Tourism, Ms. Zineb Ahmednah, who is also Acting Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, inaugurated today, Sunday, at the Mokhtar Ould Daddah Conference Palace in Nouakchott, the works of the first International Forum of the ‘Kalamakan’ Desert of China in Mauritania, which follows the previous three editions held in China.
This three-day forum is organized by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development through the National Agency of the Great Green Wall in cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the People’s Republic of China, under the theme: ‘Exchanging Desertification Control Practices for the Joint Building of the Great Green Wall.’
This forum aims to promote scientific cooperation and the exchange of expertise between research institutions and national agencies, and to expand partnerships among countries concerned with protecting their natural resources and improving the conditions of communities affected by the impacts of climate change.
This forum aims to enhance scientific cooperation and the exchange of expertise between research institutions and national agencies, and to expand partnerships among countries concerned with protecting their natural resources and improving the conditions of communities affected by the impacts of climate change.
In her speech on the occasion, the Minister of Commerce and Tourism, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development (Acting), said that the International Taklamakan Desert Forum represents a unique platform for dialogue and the exchange of experiences between two leading global initiatives in addressing major environmental challenges (the Sahara Desert and the Taklamakan one She highlighted that bringing these two experiences together in a single meeting on Mauritanian soil, for the first time in Africa, reflects the strategic vision led by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, aimed at strengthening environmental resilience, enhancing South-South cooperation, and opening up to successful international experiences, particularly China’s pioneering experience in combating desertification and reclaiming arid areas.
She highlighted that bringing these two experiences together in a single meeting on Mauritanian soil, for the first time in Africa, reflects the strategic vision led by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, aimed at strengthening environmental resilience, enhancing South-South cooperation, and opening up to successful international experiences, particularly China’s pioneering experience in combating desertification and reclaiming arid areas.
In turn, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, Mr. Sidna Ahmed Ali, said that the agency has been working in recent years to strengthen its credibility with partners and to develop quality projects, including cooperation with the Institute of Ecology and Geography in Xinjiang, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, appreciating the role of the African Great Green Wall Agency in coordinating joint efforts.
Following the interventions, the Minister of Trade and Tourism, Mrs. Zainab Ahmednah, Acting Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, oversaw the signing of two five-year bilateral agreements between the National Agency for the Green Wall and the Chinese Xinjiang Institute on one hand, and the African Agency for the Great Green Wall and the Chinese Xinjiang Institute on the other, aiming to expand and strengthen the partnership between the two agencies and the Chinese institute.
the Minister also presided over the unveiling of the comprehensive African research center for the Great Green Wall, established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences – Xinjiang and the African Agency for the Great Green Wall.
During the forum, several sessions will be held reviewing the analysis of the Chinese project for stabilizing 3,046 km of sand dunes and its impact on the African Great Green Wall (7,750 km), integrated measures to enhance the resilience of Sahel region soils to climate change, and science, policy, and practice: global environmental monitoring, and the implementation of the Great Green Wall – practices and challenges in Africa, among others.