Dakar, 26 October 2023 - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Leonardo Santos Simão, concluded yesterday a three-day working visit to Mauritania. This visit aimed to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the Mauritanian authorities and to participate in the 13^th meeting of special envoys for the Sahel which was held from October 24 to 25 in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

Special Representative Simão was received in audience by H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and President of the G5 Sahel Conference of Heads of State. He also met with Mr. Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians abroad, and with Mr. Éric Tiaré, Executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel.

Discussions with the Mauritanian authorities focused on the humanitarian, political and security challenges facing the Sahel region, and the need to better coordinate the efforts of different partners to contribute to the consolidation of development, security and peace. In this regard, Special Representative Simão praised the Mauritanian authorities for welcoming and supporting refugees and for their unwavering willingness to play a leading role in finding solutions to the challenges that impact development, peace and security in the Sahel.

In his address to the 13^th meeting of Special Envoys for the Sahel, on “the centrality of the Sahel in global dynamics”, Special Representative Simão underlined the urgency to strengthening efforts to better support the G5-Sahel and the countries of the Sahel region in their quest for stability and lasting peace in an increasingly complex world.

Special Representative Simão reiterated the commitment of UNOWAS, in coordination with its regional partners and the international community, to continue providing the necessary support to contribute to the consolidation of peace and prosperity in the Sahel.