The High Level Regional Meeting on the Adoption of the Diagnostic Study of the Agricultural, Animal and Fisheries Capacity of the Five Sahel Countries was held on Tuesday, October 2, 2018 under the high patronage of His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The Mauritanian Minister of Economy and Finance H.E Mr. Mokhtar Ould Ajay delivered the opening speech of the high-level meeting.

 The opening ceremony was attended by the Ministers of Agriculture of the group. It was marked by five interventions by the Permanent Secretary of the Group, Mr. Mahamane Sambo Siddiqué, the Director-General of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development H.E Prof Ibrahim Adam El Dukheri, the General Manager of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, the President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Group Mr. Ahmed Bab Ould Ella, and the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Ibrahim Atiao. All the interventions focused on the importance of this event and the expected positive impacts of the results of this study towards achieving balanced economic and social development in the region, taking into consideration the environmental dimensions. Agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors are the dynamic wheel of development as it is described as the first pillar of the economies for the group countries, which are meeting the goals of food security and combating poverty as a central goal.

In the final communiqué of their meeting with the Permanent Secretariat of the Group and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), the Ministers called for integrating the observations of the expert meeting into the final document of the study. The Ministers extended their sincere thanks to the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development for accompanying the Group of Five Sahel countries in their development efforts.

H.E Prof Ibrahim Adam El Dukheri held separate working sessions with the ministers of agriculture, veterinary and maritime fishing in the Mauritanian government as well as the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor and discussed ways to enhance AOADs’ cooperation with these national and international bodies.

H.E Prof El Dukheri and Dr. Sidi Ould Tah participated in the inauguration ceremony of the Center for Entrepreneurship in Mauritania, held in cooperation between the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

H.E Prof El Dukheri visited the headquarters of the Deposit and Development Bank in Mauritania of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where he met with the Director General Mr. Mohammed Yousuf Jakana. The meeting was attended by the senior staff of the bank. The meeting focused on preparing a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the Bank and AOAD, executing activities for Mauritanians youth engaging them in entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.

 H.E Prof El Dukheri also had a meeting with the international and national consultants, AOAD experts and the participants of the study. He assured the attendees that AOAD will keep on co-operating with them through its future activities.