Speaking before the world body on Monday, the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Hassoumi Massoudou, said collaboration is necessary in a context marked by the spread of Covid-19 and other problems that harm humanity.

He said that, in the particular case of Africa, today the implementation of the so-called African Continental Free Trade Zone becomes relevant, which will allow that area to establish a single market and create more jobs for young people, among other benefits.

When addressing the issue of climate change, the government representative pointed out that the Sahel region is one of the most affected in the world with recurring droughts, floods and soil degradation, among others.

He valued, in this regard, that Niger, a country whose Gross Domestic Product grew by three percent in 2020, loses 100,000 hectares of arable land every year.

To counteract these negative phenomena and win the battle against climate change, greater political will is needed, said the official, who also advocated increasing development financing and transferring technologies to states considered poor.

In relation to the violence unleashed in Niger, Massoudou stated, on the other hand, that thanks to the recent success achieved by the national Army against terrorist groups, the resettlement of displaced populations from their places of origin began in the African country.

It was also known in this context, on the other hand, that the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, participated in the recent United Nations Virtual World Summit on Sustainable Food Systems.

At that forum, the head of state stated that his country is currently developing the strategy ‘Nigerians feed Nigerians’, which includes modernizing the agricultural sector and creating more jobs in order to improve the population’s standard of living and eradicate hunger and malnutrition.

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