The President of the Republic Receives the US Special Envoy to the Sahel Region

The president of the republic, M. Mohamed ould Cheikh Ghazouaani, received today, Monday morning, at the presidential palace the American special envoy to the Sahel region, M. Peter Pham, who is currently visiting our country.

After the meeting, the special envoy made a statement to the Mauritanian News Agency, Saying ” the president of the Republic, M. Mohamed ould Cheikh Ghazouani, honoured me by this meeting, in which we had fruitful discussions about bilateral relations and the situation in the region ”.

Regarding the bilateral relations, the discussion focused on the issues that had already been discussed between the Foreign Minister, Mike Pompeo, and the president on their call on 18 August; we also discussed the works of the high profile delegations that visited Mauritania in the last February before the outbreak of The Covid-19 Pandemic.

We also talked about the President’s views on the rule of law, social development, human rights, the exerted efforts for improving trade relations between the two countries and our security partnership.
I greatly appreciate the president’s opinion about the development of the situation in the Sahel Region, particularly Mali.

Since this is my first visit to Mauritania, I am looking forward to continue my fruitful discussions with the president ansd the members of the Mauritanian Government and civil society, and the Executive Secretary of THE G5 Sahel countries.

I am the first US Special Envoy to the Sahel region; the creation of this position by the foreign Minister, earlier this year, reflects the commitment of the USA Government towards this area.
The aim of diplomatic efforts in the Sahel region is to help the western African Governments cope with insecurity, contain the spread of violence, and achieve stabilty in the region with coordinated assistance between the international community and the USA in particular.

The four main objectives that I want to achieve in my term are:

1- The improvement of the coordination with the international partner, regionals, and international organizations.

2- Reinforcing stability In Mali, including the transition to a Civilan-led Government in appropriate time for the restauration of the constitutional order.

3- pushing and helping Government to expand the international legitimacy and good governance in the G5 Sahel countries as well as the neighbouring Coastal countries.

4- Preventing further repercussions that may lead to more instability in other areas of West Africa.

To conclude, Mauritania is an indispensable partner to the United state in these efforts.