Dakar, 17 December 2012 - Mr. Romano Prodi, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahel and Mr. Said Djinnit, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, will hold consultations from 17 to 19 December in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger within the framework of the development of the UN integrated regional strategy for the Sahel region.

The purpose of their joint visit is to discuss challenges affecting the Sahel region and ways by which to address them. During their consultations, Mr Prodi and Mr Djinnt will hold meetings with the Heads of States, UN agencies funds and programs as well as civil society groups and non-governmental organizations (NGos).

This is the third visit of M. Romano Prodi in the region since his appointment by Secretary-general Ban ki-Moon as special Envoy for the Sahel on 9 October 2012.