The project aims to restore 100 million hectares of dry land by 2030 along an 8,000-kilometre strip stretching from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east.
About thirty personalities are expected to take part, mainly by visio due to the health crisis.
They include the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the President of the World Bank David Malpass, the heir to the British throne Prince Charles, and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
Others are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado, the President of the ECB Christine Lagarde and the head of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Each participant is expected to present initiatives or make concrete commitments around the four themes of the conference: