 It is a special pleasure to join you at this inaugural International Forum of the Development of the Lake Charred Region. Nigeria is excited and honored to be the first post of these annual forums, and I bring you the very warm greetings of Mr. President, President Mohammad Ibuwai, who by his relentless advocacy on the matter of the recovery of the Lake Charred area has made the whole question a geostrategic issue for Echoers and for the Africa Union. I must say that for very many of us who have watched the Lake Charred go from a blessing to some sort of a conundrum, the Lake Charred Region Recovery and Development Project is share music to the ears. But the story of the rise and fall of the Lake Charred bears repeating so that the work of recovery can be done with sufficient insights into the multiple issues that must be contended and resolved. At the height of its glory, and we've heard this repeated yesterday, the Lake Charred was one of Africa's largest natural deposits, covering 25,000 square kilometers. The Lake, a fresh water lake, provided water for over 30 million people in the four countries surrounding the Sahel, Nigeria, Cameroon, Charred, and Niger. But its huge economic value included fishing, agricultural productivity, health and of course security. Today, the Lake Charred has shrunk disastrous lengths to barely 2,000 square kilometers, a case of the devastating impact of climate change on natural resources. This sharp drop in size and the decrease in water levels has also led to a chain of catastrophic events, including the impairment of the capacity of that region to deliver food, health, and security to its population, resulting first in economic instability and downturn in agricultural productivity and subsequently in the festering in security all around the Sahel and in many cases in the violent context of food, water and pasture. The insecurity in the Sahel region has spawned off another crisis, a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions, and we've heard here that over 23 million residents and citizens of the four countries are displaced currently. The prolact project's approach to the recovery of the Lake Charred region is uninspired because it focuses on investment to support regional coordination and crisis monitoring. And we've also heard repeatedly that regional coordination is the key to resolving many of the issues in the region and connectivity and agricultural livelihoods. These investments are rightly expected to address the underlying fragility and the acute humanitarian and forced displacement crisis in the four countries. Collaboration, cooperation, and synergy between our countries and stakeholders across the region and the Sahel are the key actions that will determine the speed and effectiveness of the delivery of economic stability and peace and containing the humanitarian crisis, international cooperation, and all that is required in that area. It's important also to bear in mind that there is a need for international cooperation and collaboration, especially as we've seen in the domain of military action, and we've seen this work for cross-border security interventions, especially in terrorism situations in that neighborhood. All of the successes in our fight against terrorism exemplify what we can achieve working together. We therefore must continue to build on this spirit of cooperation in other areas of intervention and forge even stronger ties for sharing information and lessons from our different experiences. There have been several studies that deal with different aspects of the security challenge and a multi-faceted approach for long-term security and stability of the region will be informed by discussion and analysis of this body of knowledge that is already available. While there has been a lot of progress, there remains much to be done in addressing especially the drivers of insecurity and where we can improve, we must take every opportunity to do so. One of the things that the crisis has affected is social cohesion within and around many of the communities in the region. So as we rebuild the physical structures within these areas, we should be mindful of the need to foster peaceful coexistence and restore the social fabric of those communities and societies. For without sustainable peace, we are limited in how much we can attract the kind of investments necessary for the growth we need to fulfill all of the development needs of our populations. So as we listen, as we learn and share over the course of this forum, we hope to build stronger ties with our neighbors that will endure and grow beyond the immediate task in front of us, yielding results we hope over the short and long term, with new strategies, renewed vigor and drive to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters across the four countries. Our experience has highlighted the importance of dialogue and interactions, such as those confronting, such as what we expect to see in confronting the challenges and that faces our quite confident in the potential of collaboration for achieving all of our objectives. The results and recommendations of this forum are to be transmitted to the various governments to guide policy making and strategic decisions that need to be taken in the short and long term, related of possible development of the region. And I can assure you that the federal government of Nigeria will be an active participant in turning these recommendations into firm actions. I'm confident of the same level of willingness of the governments of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which is of course evidenced by their presence here today. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to assure all our partners in this effort of the government's commitment to working with you for sustainable, peaceful and a prosperous region. We also wish to assure you of our unwavering determination to address the crisis and rebuild the livelihoods of people who have been affected by the humanitarian crisis especially. Before I take my seat, I must commend the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadia Umafaroop and her team, the Lake Child Basin Commission, the Northeast Development Commission and the Lake Child Region Recovery and Development Project for your commitment to the recovery and development of the Lake Child Basin. It is now my very special privilege and pleasure to declare open the first annual International Forum on the Development of the Lake Child Basin. Thank you very much.