Mauritania

**In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful** And may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of messengers. - Mr President, - Your Majesties, Excellencies, and Highnesses, - His Excellency Mr António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, - Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Allow me at the outset to extend my warmest congratulations to His Excellency Mr Philemon Yang on his assumption of the presidency of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, wishing him every success in his leadership. I also congratulate His Excellency Mr Dennis Francis for the wisdom and high competence he demonstrated in presiding over the 78th Session. I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation and esteem for the tireless efforts of the UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, in advancing our organisation and enhancing its role as an effective institutional expression of our collective will to address the various challenges facing our world on the path to achieving inclusive and sustainable development. **Your Majesties, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,** The theme of our summit—*“Working together to foster peace, sustainable development, and human dignity for current and future generations, leaving no one behind”*—powerfully and clearly encapsulates the purposes and objectives of the UN Charter. It equally reflects our shared awareness of the need to strengthen our cooperation and coordinate our efforts to meet existing challenges. The severe shocks and unprecedented crises afflicting the world today on multiple fronts have significantly weakened our individual and collective capacity to fulfil the commitments we made under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The current international context has had a particularly adverse effect on efforts to realise sustainable development, especially in our African continent, which already suffers from deep structural and contextual imbalances that hinder its development and slow progress towards the 2030 and 2063 Agendas. Our continent continues to struggle with poverty, fragility, unemployment, and weak health and education systems in terms of both quality and inclusiveness—not to mention the spread of terrorism, armed conflicts, and the escalating destructive impacts of climate change. This bleak African landscape confirms the urgent need to alleviate the massive debt burden on African states, to correct the glaring imbalances in the global development assistance system and in political and financial governance, and to strengthen multilateral cooperation in general. These measures will help the continent achieve economic take-off and greatly enhance the effectiveness of its efforts to meet the development goals it has pledged—together with the international community—to achieve by 2030. In the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and in line with this collective commitment, we have made the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals a central focus of our public policy. Indeed, we have made some modest progress in improving several development indicators, as reflected in Mauritania’s improved ranking in the United Nations 2024 Sustainable Development Report. This progress stems from our concerted efforts to consolidate the rule of law and build strong institutions, to promote democracy and individual and collective freedoms, to adopt dialogue and consultation as a constant approach to public affairs, and to support the independence of the judiciary, transparency, and the fight against all forms of administrative and financial corruption. It is also the result of our ongoing efforts to protect and promote human rights, including combating the legacies and modern forms of slavery, human trafficking, and protecting the rights of women and children. We are also committed to fighting irregular migration and transnational crime. Furthermore, through God’s grace and the effective implementation of our integrated security strategy, we have succeeded in ensuring security, peace, and stability, despite widespread violence, terrorism, and political and social instability in our regional and international surroundings. We have also devoted considerable attention to the role of youth in nation-building and driving growth and development. Our focus has been on training, empowering, and integrating young people into active public life and enhancing their presence in all spheres of governance. These efforts have positively contributed to consolidating our national unity and strengthening our social cohesion. We have worked intensively to eliminate all forms of marginalisation, exclusion, and vulnerability by establishing a wide-ranging social protection network to reduce the burdens of daily life for the poor, enhance their resilience, and enable access to all public services. We have launched a promising reform of our education system, aimed at establishing a *“Republican School”* that embodies the values of equality and fairness, and guarantees all citizens access to high-quality education in equitable conditions—an education that serves as a lever for social advancement. In parallel, we have doubled efforts to expand and improve health services, ensure access to medicines, and we have established a fund to cover health insurance for citizens not included in traditional schemes. In addition, we provide free basic medical services, particularly for mothers, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. Fully aware of the adverse environmental and climate-related impacts on our planet—especially the socio-economic and political-security consequences in Africa and the Sahel—we have reduced carbon emissions by 11% and increased the share of renewable energy in our total energy consumption to 50% by 2030. These efforts will be further bolstered by a large-scale programme to develop green hydrogen. In addition to our clean energy initiatives—which currently cover 48% of our total energy usage—we remain committed to combating desertification through the Great Green Wall Initiative and the Joint Committee on Combating the Effects of Drought in the Sahel Region. In this regard, I highly commend the outcomes of COP28, held in the United Arab Emirates at the end of last year, and I hope these environmental gains will be strengthened at COP29, to be hosted this year by Azerbaijan. We sincerely hope that industrialised countries will honour their emission reduction commitments and fulfil their Paris Agreement pledges. **Your Majesties, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,** The Islamic Republic of Mauritania holds a firm belief that cooperation among nations is only productive and effective when based on friendship, trust, and mutual respect. For this reason, our foreign policy is based on non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, on strengthening cooperation and friendship, on upholding international peace and security, and on supporting just causes according to international law, the UN Charter, the African Union, the Arab League, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. In this context, we affirm the following: - Our strong condemnation of the genocide being perpetrated by Israel against the defenceless Palestinian people in blatant violation of international and humanitarian law. We call for its immediate cessation and reaffirm our support for the Palestinian people's right to dignity and sovereignty within an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions. - Our denunciation and condemnation of the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon, and our demand for its immediate halt. - Our call for a solution that safeguards the unity and sovereignty of brotherly Libya, and our insistence on bolstering African and international efforts in this regard. - Our support for the security, stability, and territorial integrity of brotherly Sudan, and our call for dialogue and reason to prevail in resolving the current crisis—leading to an immediate end to the war, alleviating the humanitarian suffering of the Sudanese people, and ensuring respect for international humanitarian law. - Our firm pursuit of a political solution that preserves the unity, independence, and dignity of brotherly Syria, and the right of its people to live in peace and security. - Our support for legitimacy in brotherly Yemen and our call for peaceful resolution paths in accordance with Arab initiatives and relevant international resolutions. - Our consistent stance on the Western Sahara conflict and our support for UN efforts and all relevant Security Council resolutions aimed at achieving a sustainable and mutually acceptable solution. - Our deep concern over the continuation of the war in Ukraine, and our call for a resolution that ends the conflict and addresses the concerns of both parties, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter—so as to spare the region and the world further tragedy and destruction. **Your Majesties, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,** The **Summit of the Future**, which concluded yesterday, reflected our shared awareness of the gravity of our collective responsibility for our common future. It also confirmed—by the plans and measures it adopted—that we still have the ability to shape a future of peace, prosperity, security, and inclusive sustainable development that excludes no nation or people. Let us therefore deepen mutual trust, strengthen multilateral cooperation, and accelerate the reform of international governance—both political and financial—to make it more just, balanced, and equitable. Then, God willing, we shall succeed in rescuing our planet from peril and securing a bright future for our present and future generations. **Thank you, and may peace be upon you.**