From left to right are Ms Fana Sylla, Ms Robin H. Gray, Dr Jeremy Ouedraogo and Mr Mamadou Bousso

Dakar, June 29, 2021 - Representatives of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service in Dakar, Senegal, paid a courtesy call on the Head of the AUDA-NEPAD Office in Dakar, Dr Jeremy Ouedraogo, who also serves as head of the African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE).

The USDA team was led by Ms Robin H. Gray, Counselor for Agricultural Affairs for Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea-Bissau, and The Gambia. She was accompanied by agricultural specialists, Ms Fana Sylla and Mr Mamadou Bousso.

During the meeting, Dr Ouedraogo and his team (comprising Mr Samuel Timpo, Principal Programme Officer and Jean Keberé, Communications Officer) acknowledged the fruitful collaboration AUDA-NEPAD has had with the USDA Office in Dakar over the past years. They presented the ABNE programme interventions in the West African Region and reaffirmed the commitment of the programme to working with African and international partners to continuously provide technical support to African countries in the implementation of functional biosafety regulatory systems.

The USDA team commended the effective collaboration of the USDA Office and AUDA-NEPAD. They acknowledged the efforts of ABNE and the good progress made by a number of West African countries in the establishment of functional biosafety laws. They also assured USDA Office’s continued support for effective implementation of AUDA-NEPAD activities on the ground.