President of Republic Receives UNCCD Executive Secretary

On 16 April, in Nouakchott, His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the President of the Republic and Chairman of the African Union, received Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the main aspects of cooperation between Mauritania and this international organization in the field of the fight against desertification, which is one of the environmental challenges of Mauritania and the African continent in

general.

Shortly after the meeting, the UNCCD Executive Secretary said he was honored to have been received by the President of the Republic, noting that the meeting was an opportunity to provide an update to the Head of State on the subject of

final preparations for COP 16 to combat desertification, to be hosted by the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next December.

He recalled that Mauritania is an important party to this Convention, due to its geographical location as a desert country, but also due to its presidency of the African Union and its status as leader of the African Group.

This means, he continues, that the decisions of this COP are important because they relate to areas such as food, water, and the problems posed by drought, etc.

Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw added that the President had provided him with sound advice on how to deal with these issues and on how Mauritania can exploit these challenges to turn them into development opportunities.

Indeed, he said, Mauritania has a geographical position of transit for international migrations but also for the reception of refugees. This is the place to rethink the country’s development policy accordingly, particularly by focusing on the development of agriculture and fisheries and promoting the fight against drought and aridity. Each country must also develop its strategy and of course Mauritania its own.