Morocco and Mauritania to bolster cooperation ties in environment protection

Ways of upgrading the Moroccan - Mauritanian partnership in environment protection and related sectors topped talks held Thursday in Dakar between Moroccan Minister in charge of agriculture, Said Chbaatou and his Mauritanian peer, Ahmed Ould Lkhal.

The two Maghreban ministers met on the fringes of the UN desertification control conference that wrapped up on Friday in Dakar after a week-long debate on the best ways to promote international actions to better control desert encroachment.

The two ministers stressed the need to coordinate greening strategies, launch joint projects and exchange experiences in the struggle against all forms of pollution and promote environment protection studies.

The Moroccan official, who took part in the conference, voiced Morocco's full backing to the UN desertification control convention and praised the valuable technical and financial assistance extended by Germany and the UN Development Program for the setting up of the Moroccan desertification control program.

The Moroccan official called for the consolidation of international cooperation in the struggle against desert encroachment and urged developed countries to back desertification control programs in poor countries which have neither the means nor the needed skills to counter natural hazards.