President of Republic Calls For Greater Commitment From International Community for G-5 Sahel
On 10 July, in Nouakchott, His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the President of the Republic, President in Office of the G-5 Sahel, supervised the opening of the work of the fourth General Assembly of the Sahel Alliance.
The General Assembly examines several topics, particularly the issue of security and development, the correlation between security and development, the evaluation of the context of priorities for the countries of the Sahel, the new development strategy of the whole in the Sahel, and support for the populations of the countries in the area in a context of growing instability and insecurity.
The meeting deals with the issue of the group’s renewed partnership and new strategic priorities.
A presentation will be made on the actions undertaken by the G-5 Sahel, its future projects, the degree of strengthening of socio-economic resilience and food security, regional development, access to basic services, the commitment in the transformation agenda in the Sahel through strategic initiatives for the years to come, as well as global challenges in the light of achievements and prospects for strengthening partnership dialogue.
Opening the work of this fourth ordinary session of the Alliance, His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the President of the Republic, delivered an important speech in which he indicated that the security challenge represented by terrorism and violent extremism cannot be dissociated from the inhibiting vector of development which are: poverty, social injustice, bad governance, climate change, lack of prospects, and social tensions.
He indicated that the G-5 Sahel determination was clearly reflected in the roadmap of the Mauritanian presidency of the G5 Sahel, which sets itself the objective, among other things, of strengthening the capacities of defense and security actors, particularly the reformed joint force.
His Excellency called, on behalf of all the Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel, for greater commitment from the international community and mobilization of financial resources for the G-5 Sahel.
Here is the full text of that speech:
“Excellency Prime Minister,
Excellency the Speaker of the National Assembly,
Excellency the President of the Constitutional Council,
Excellency, Mr. Jose Manuel Albares, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain and President of the General Assembly of the Sahel Alliance,
Excellency, Ms. Svenja Schulze, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany,
Excellency, Mr. Vice President of the World Bank Group for West and Central Africa, and Chairman of the Operational Steering Committee of the Sahel Alliance,
Excellencies, Supervisory Ministers of the G-5 Sahel, Burkina-Faso, Niger, Chad, and Mauritania,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Representatives of countries, international organizations and institutions, members or partners of the Sahel Alliance,
Excellency, Executive Secretary of the G-5 Sahel,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Diplomatic Corps in Mauritania,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to welcome you all to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and to address to you, on behalf of all the Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel and on my own behalf, my sincere thanks for being eager to take part in the work of this fourth session of the General Assembly, despite your many occupations and driven by your concern to strengthen the partnership dynamic around the G-5 Sahel.
Your presence today reinforces my belief in the sustainability of your commitment and your support for the efforts that we are constantly deploying, to meet the enormous security, economic, social, and ecological challenges that are jeopardizing the future of the Sahel,
as a whole, and particularly the G-5 Sahel countries.
I would also like to thank His Excellency, Mr. Jose Manuel Albares, for his excellent work in chairing the General Assembly of the Sahel Alliance and wish howling success to Ms. Svenja Schulze, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of
the Federal Republic of Germany in her new mission as President of the General Assembly of the Alliance.
Furthermore, I express my deep gratitude to the Spanish and German authorities, as well as to all the countries and organizations, members or partners of the Alliance, for the efforts made to make the holding of this 4th session of the General Assembly possible.
By being held at the same time as the 12th ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the G-5 Sahel, this session of the General Assembly offers us today the happy opportunity to put it into perspective, with a view to strengthening it and improving its
effectiveness, the partnership between the Sahel Alliance and the G-5 Sahel.
Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, there is no doubt that the Sahel as a whole and particularly the G-5 Sahel countries, is facing security, socio-economic, and ecological crises disproportionate to its own resilience capacities alone.
These crises, exacerbated by a particularly difficult international situation, feed and amplify each other, in a sort of dramatic vicious circle.
We can only hope to break this circle by synergizing efforts, adopting a holistic approach, and implementing a strong collective response, sustainably supported by active solidarity on the part of the international community.
Indeed, the security challenge posed by terrorism and violent extremism cannot be dissociated from the inhibiting vector of development, which are: poverty, social injustice, bad governance, climate change, lack of prospects, and
social tensions. It is generally at the confluence of these vectors that violence germinates and thrives.
Also, the G-5 Sahel very quickly targeted the mobilization of partners around its development, governance, resilience, and security programs.
And it is precisely the consideration of this quasi-organic link between security and development that constitutes the keystone of the organization of the G-5 Sahel.
Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite a rather unfavorable regional and international context, it is undeniable that the G-5 Sahel has recorded significant achievements, particularly: Strengthening channels for exchanges and coordination between national defense and security forces,
The establishment of rapid action monitoring and intervention groups (GARSI),
Or on the economic level, the implementation of a priority investment program for the period 2019 – 2021 and the ongoing adoption of a new plan covering the period 2023 – 2025. Admittedly, unfortunate and regrettable events have recently disrupted the functioning of our organization and further accentuated the vulnerability of this already very fragile area.
By way of illustration, we could cite among others:
The Malian withdrawal from the G-5 Sahel which suddenly broke the geographical continuity of our space and deprived us, very temporarily, I hope, of the precious contribution of a brotherly country and founding member,
The withdrawal of the Barkhane force,
The armed conflict in Sudan…
However, faced with these developments, the Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel strongly reaffirmed, on 20 February 2023, in N’Djamena, their firm determination to preserve and strengthen the G-5 Sahel, because of their deep conviction that the victory
against terrorism and underdevelopment, imperatively requires the pooling of resources and the synergy of efforts.
This determination is clearly reflected in the roadmap of the Mauritanian presidency of the G-5 Sahel, which sets itself the objective, among others, of:
Strengthening the capacities of defense and security actors, particularly the reformed joint force,
Boosting security-related structures, hosted by member countries,
Operationalizing the 2023-2025 priority investment program, and promoting economic exchanges between the countries of the Sahel while working to mobilize them around structuring projects aligned with the development and security strategy,
Working to revitalize and expand the international partnership in favor of the G-5 Sahel.
The holding of this 4th General Assembly of the Sahel Alliance in Nouakchott today strongly confirms the real existence of a real political momentum aimed at revitalizing the G-5 Sahel. I would like here to renew my thanks to all the countries, organizations, and international institutions, members or partners of the Alliance, for their support, which they have never ceased, within a framework of mutual accountability, to help us in the
youth employment, agriculture, food security, ecology, and basic services.
However, it is clear that to respond effectively to security and development challenges in the Sahel, we need a broader mobilization of the international community.
Also, I call on behalf of all the Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel, for more commitment from the international community and mobilization of financial resources for the benefit of the G-5 Sahel.
It is particularly urgent to:
Implement short-term actions, with quick effects, associated with long-term structuring actions, which induce a qualitative and lasting transformation of the living conditions of the populations,
Find decent employment solutions for women and young people by implementing income-generating activities for the benefit of vulnerable populations,
Improve the proactivity of the agricultural sector through agro-ecological intensification, thanks to the exploitation of renewable energies such as green hydrogen;
Also, while hoping that your work will contribute to a greater mobilization of funding for the benefit of the defense and security strategy of the G-5 Sahel, I wish you howling success and success and declare open the 4th session of the General Assembly of the Sahel Alliance. Thank you “.