UN General Assembly
2003

which will help resolve conflicts in the continent and respond to the aspirations of African peoples to progress and development. We also wish to express our satisfaction with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which is aimed at enhancing regional cooperation in order to achieve economic integration in the continent. We are also pleased by the support given to this initiative by our development partners. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Mr. Maaouya Ould Sid' Ahmed Taya, is peaceably pursuing its course towards progress and development, inspired by the comprehensive and coherent vision of a societal project that meets national aspirations and offers real prospects for social advancement, modernization and openness within the context of a State governed by law, justice and equality. That strategy focuses on combating ignorance and illiteracy, and on spreading scientific and other knowledge by promoting books and reading as part of a large-scale national programme entitled Knowledge for all', launched by His Excellency the President of