MOHAMED OULD CHEIKH EL GHAZOUANI, President of Mauritania, said the world today is going through acute and overlapping crises that affect everyone, even if the impact is not equal.  “Our fates are intertwined and we need to accelerate the achievement of the Global Goals,” he said, adding the pace of inclusivity has been below expectations.  Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in many developing countries is slowing and has even stopped as nations face increasing unemployment, public health and food crises, inflation, terrorism and armed conflicts, accompanied by environmental deterioration.  Yet even with this grim picture, he said he remains hopeful that the Global Goals can be implemented as new pathways for multilateral cooperation are created and more effective mechanisms to mobilize financing for sustainable development are found.  This Assembly session is very important as it allows Member States to take a halfway look and develop ways to accelerate the process, he stressed.

In Mauritania, the implementation of the Global Goals is integral to its development strategy, he said.  Despite regional and international challenges, the country has successfully countered poverty and strengthened social and health benefits as it moves towards universal health coverage.  The Government has adopted structural reforms to create a more diversified economy that can boost employment, improve agricultural output and create food security.  The country posted economic growth of 6.4 per cent last year as it expands health services. Public access to drinking water, for example, is now about 72 per cent.  Access to electricity in urban areas has reached 91.84 per cent with a 53 per cent average throughout the country. Renewable energy accounted for 34 per cent of the country’s energy mix in 2020 and the Government is aiming for a 50 per cent share in 2030.

Turning to climate change and desertification, he said the upcoming Twenty-eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) is a source of great hope and he called on industrialized States to maintain their commitments.  Mauritania remains committed to the Great Green Wall initiative, which aims to fight drought in the Sahel and Africa.  To improve the lives of its citizens, the Government has implemented youth training programmes to help young people enter the labour market and reject the pull of terrorism.  It is helping move women into greater participation in all areas of daily and public life and giving all children a quality education.  In addition, it is strengthening the rule of law, fighting human rights violations and combatting contemporary forms of slavery as it develops mechanisms to counter resistance to reforms.

As chairman of the Group of Five for the Sahel, he is committed toward greater regional and international security in an insecure environment.  This includes upholding international treaties and support for all just causes.  He reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to create an independent State with its capital in East Jerusalem, as affirmed in relevant Council resolutions.  He called for peaceful solutions in Libya, Yemen and Syria and an end to hostilities in Sudan.  He condemned the phenomena of Islamophobia, which sows division and hatred between the West and Islamic countries.  He called for a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine.  Much work is needed to attain the Global Goals and Mauritania needs resources and greater levels of investments, he stressed.  Further, he called for the resolution of developing countries’ debt by reforming the development debt system and greater support for the most vulnerable countries through multilateral cooperation.  Member States must work together to reform the United Nations so it can advance in a balanced way to solve crises and build trust in the Organization.