Outstanding Success of the “Youth and Hope” Presidency

The Chadian capital, N'Djamena, will host tomorrow, Monday, the work of the seventh conference of heads of state of the G5-Sahel, with the participation of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President in office of the group. To trace the main phases of the Mauritanian presidency of the G5-Sahel, the Mauritanian news agency (AMI) wrote a commentary, which reads as follows: The Conference of Heads of State of the Sahelian space is therefore a meeting on which the peoples of the G-5 Sahel place great hopes to address the current security and economic challenges and to discuss all thorny development issues by seeking immediate solutions to some, and medium and long-term ones to others. At the same time, the President of the Republic, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, is getting ready, with great pride, to hand over the rotating presidency of the G-5 Sahel to his Chadian counterpart after a fruitful term, marked by achievements on more than one level. A successful start materialized by the Nouakchott summit on 24 February last year, the day His Excellency took the helm, urged by his G-5 Sahel peers, to assess the efforts in the fight against terrorism, strengthen regional integration, boost effective diplomacy in favor of peace, and promote the development of the Sahel region. As soon as the Nouakchott summit was over, the Mauritanian “Youth and Hope” presidency embarked on the implementation of the roadmap that should lead to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the G-5 Sahel. Thus, during the interval between the Nouakchott summit and that of N'Djamena, the G-5 Sahel countries have shown, despite the many challenges, their determination to face insecurity and have launched economic recovery programs with the effective start of an emergency plan comprising 18 projects, in addition to those initiated as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mauritanian presidency was marked by the launch of the Alliance for the Sahel at the joint summit between the G-5 Sahel states and the European Union, which was followed by intense diplomatic activity aimed at boosting and expanding this alliance. Subsequently, a strong advocacy was conducted for the cancellation of the debt of the five Sahel countries and in favor of support for the various national plans with a view to enabling the G-5 Sahel countries to overcome crises and recover and to embark resolutely on the path of peace and prosperity. During its presidency of the G-5 Sahel, Mauritania insisted on integrating the road map submitted to the partners to strengthen the relations of trust between the security and defense forces and the indigenous populations by activating the police component within the framework of the G-5 Sahel joint force, strengthening the State’s presence in sensitive areas, and developing communication in this direction. His Excellency the President of the Republic has never missed an opportunity to talk about the security challenges facing the region, welcoming the results obtained at the Pau summit and appreciating the support provided by both the European Union and the African Union and the Sahel neighborhood countries. To strengthen the security component, the President of the Republic continues to advocate placing the G-5 Sahel joint force under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, counting, in this regard, on the role of the United Nations Secretary General to convince the UN Security Council of the global dimension of the dangers facing the Sahel region. His recent talks with the NATO Secretary General on security and defense issues in the Sahel region confirm this desire to strengthen and broaden the partnership for the benefit of the G-5 Sahel. Many other successes have marked, in many ways, the Mauritanian presidency of the Group, on the path to strengthening regional integration, development, and prosperity in the service of the peoples of the G-5 Sahel.