US Embassy Nouakchott hosted a DVC with Dr. Steven Ekovitch on Obama’s first 100 days in office.

Through Africa Regional Services (ARS) US Embassy Nouakchott hosted a Digital Video Conference with Dr. Steven Ekovitch on Obama’s first 100 days in office. Taking advantage of the occasion, post invited members of the cyber media to participate and presented them with certificates at the end of the DVC honoring their participation in last month’s media workshop.  Each attendee received an Obama T-shirt and trilingual copies of the Cairo speech as well as the publication “Obama in His Own Words”.  

The Ambassador introduced the event by offering examples of the progress made in the first 100 days of the Obama administration - particularly with respect to the Moslem world - exemplified in his speech a week prior in Cairo, but also seen in his Inaugural Speech, in Turkey and for the Iranian new year.  After presenting his view on what characterizes Obama’s first 100 days, including his relative popularity and personality as well different tone but continuity in policy, Dr. Ekovich opened the floor to debate with the Mauritanian audience. 

They asked questions about President Obama’s ties to the Muslim world and commented on the perception of his Cairo speech in their country, where in a recent UPI international poll 56% of Mauritanians were said to “approve of US leadership.”   Momme Ould Ducros of the heralded tri-lingual Taqadoumy website noted that the Obama administration appears to have moved from a “Clash of Civilizations” philosophy towards Hillary Clinton’s diplomacy-heavy “Smartpower.”  The debate was fruitful and came at an interesting time for Mauritanian – US bilateral relations.