Government Spokesperson: The President’s Visit to Washington is Historic, Both in Terms of Choice and Outcomes

The Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament, Spokesperson of the Government, Mr. El Houssein Ould Medou, said that the visit of the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, to the United States of America was historic, both in terms of Mauritania’s choice of the summit and its outcomes (strengthening of bilateral cooperation).

Responding to a question about the visit, while commenting on the results of the meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday evening in Nouakchott with the Minister in charge of the General Secretariat of the Government and the Ministers of Islamic Affairs, Economy and Finance and Agriculture, he added that the visit allowed the President of the Republic to present Mauritania, as well as hold bilateral meetings with the US President and a number of world leaders.

He stressed that the invitation of the President of the Republic to attend the summit in the United States of America is a practical embodiment of the international status that Mauritania occupies, despite attempts to confuse it with fake news and rumors, calling on media professionals to fulfill their professional duty in combating fake news.

He highlighted that the upcoming visit of the Spanish Prime Minister to Nouakchott with seven ministers from his government, in addition to its role in strengthening bilateral cooperation between Mauritania and Spain in several fields, also reflects the international standing of our country. The participation of His Excellency the President of the Republic in the recent African Union Conference also reinforces this status.

Government Spokesperson: The President’s Visit to Washington is Historic, Both in Terms of Choice and Outcomes

The Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament, Spokesperson of the Government, Mr. El Houssein Ould Medou, said that the visit of the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, to the United States of America was historic, both in terms of Mauritania’s choice of the summit and its outcomes (strengthening of bilateral cooperation).

Responding to a question about the visit, while commenting on the results of the meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday evening in Nouakchott with the Minister in charge of the General Secretariat of the Government and the Ministers of Islamic Affairs, Economy and Finance and Agriculture, he added that the visit allowed the President of the Republic to present Mauritania, as well as hold bilateral meetings with the US President and a number of world leaders.

He stressed that the invitation of the President of the Republic to attend the summit in the United States of America is a practical embodiment of the international status that Mauritania occupies, despite attempts to confuse it with fake news and rumors, calling on media professionals to fulfill their professional duty in combating fake news.

He highlighted that the upcoming visit of the Spanish Prime Minister to Nouakchott with seven ministers from his government, in addition to its role in strengthening bilateral cooperation between Mauritania and Spain in several fields, also reflects the international standing of our country. The participation of His Excellency the President of the Republic in the recent African Union Conference also reinforces this status.

In response to a question about the evaluation of the government’s performance, the government spokesman emphasized that the hundreds of development projects launched this year (under implementation), with a financial cost of 320 billion ouguiyas, all from the state budget, will benefit all municipalities of the country, without affecting the major projects of previously programmed government sectors, which also cost hundreds of billions, such as those related to water, energy and others.

 

He added that the Nouakchott development program parallel to these programs (to be implemented in 16 months with a financial cover of 51 billion ouguiyas) is a living example of the rapid pace of work in government programs, as the level of implementation of works has reached 37% except for two projects, stressing that these projects and programs are sufficient to evaluate the work of the government.

Commenting on the statement on the evolution of the portfolio of major deals from May 1 to June 30, 2025, the Minister in charge of the General Secretariat of the Government, Mr. Mokhtar El Housseini Lam, stressed that the pace of implementation of the portfolio of major deals is improving significantly, as for the first time it maintains a three-point lead, as the level of implementation in May and June reached 3.23 and 3.33 points, respectively.

 

He explained that this unprecedented improvement in the implementation of the portfolio came after the instructions issued by the President of the Republic in 2023 to follow up and accelerate the implementation of projects, stressing that the portfolio currently consists of 110 deals with a financial cover of 51 billion new ouguiyas, distributed over 14 sectors, covering most social fields.

 

He added that the statement included an overview of the progress of the implementation of the pilot project for the development of Nouakchott, launched by the President of the Republic in recent months to improve access to services and improve the living conditions of the population, as the level of implementation of these projects has reached 37%, allowing the projects to be implemented within their deadlines (16 months), except for two projects whose studies have been delayed.

 

For his part, the Minister of Islamic Affairs and Original Education, Mr. Sidi Yahya Ould Cheikhna Ould Lamrabet, commenting on the statement on the evaluation of the last Hajj season and the prospects for the next season, said that the last Hajj season was characterized by good preparation and good conditions, allowing pilgrims to perform their rituals in good conditions, as no deaths or issues were recorded in the last Hajj season, alhamdulillah.

He recalled the improvements made by the sector in the last season, such as reviewing the contracts concluded with the companies, which made it possible to reduce the costs of Hajj, increasing the number of hotels in Mecca, reserving suitable sites in the holy sites with the capacity to cover all pilgrims, solving the issue of overcrowding crisis in previous seasons, improving the information system for pilgrims, and preparing religious and civil awareness programs, through videos in all national languages, in addition to improving the information system for pilgrims.

 

Regarding the second part of the statement regarding the challenges of the upcoming Hajj season, the Minister stressed that one of the most prominent challenges is the lack of harmony between the start of the local Hajj season and the Saudi calendar, which prompted the sector to submit a proposal for an early announcement, in order to harmonize the start of the season with its start there, in terms of deadlines for organizing housing and food.

For his part, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Sid’ Ahmed Ould Bouh, said that the draft law authorizing the ratification of a framework agreement between Mauritania and the Islamic Development Bank for the improvement of vocational training and youth employment aims to strengthen the capacities of the current vocational training system through the establishment of two effective and comprehensive vocational training poles, noting that the financing of this agreement exceeds 26 million euros, to be paid over twenty years.

 

He added that the second draft law authorizing the ratification of the loan agreement between the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Islamic Development Bank to finance the project to improve vocational training and youth employment consists of two components, the first of which concerns the construction of a training pole in Dar Naim, focusing on important specializations such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, mechanics, air conditioning and refrigeration, while the second component of the project concerns institutional capacity development, such as curriculum development, with a financial envelope of 9.5 million euros.

Regarding the draft law on the ratification of a financing agreement between Mauritania and the African Development Bank to finance the project to strengthen rural resilience in Mauritania through the management and development of water resources for domestic and productive purposes and ecosystems, he emphasized that the financial costs of the loan exceeded seven billion new ounces, which will be repaid over 30 years at an interest rate of 0.75 per annum.

He pointed out that the aforementioned project consists of three main components, such as avoiding water shortages, providing water infrastructure, providing pastoral water for livestock, reducing household pollution, and improving water resources.

For his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Mr. Momma Beibate, stressed that the joint statement between the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Employment, Sports and Civil Service and the Ministry Delegated to the Minister of Interior, Promotion of Decentralization and Local Development in charge of Decentralization and Local Development on agricultural mechanization comes to evaluate the first phase, which was supervised last year in Kiheidi by the President of the Republic and considered indispensable to develop irrigated agriculture, to solve the issues facing this type of agriculture, namely labor migration from the countryside.

He added that the statement also comes within the framework of the ongoing preparations to launch a second phase of the mechanization of agriculture with 80 tractors in the coming days, and to take the necessary measures to make this phase a success, as the benefit is still limited, despite what has been achieved, due to several factors, most notably the lack of training, maintenance and spare parts.

The Minister stressed that the sector has decided to take practical measures that will start in the coming days to solve the previous issues that limit the effectiveness of irrigated agriculture, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and the Ministry delegated to the Minister of Interior (regional councils) by integrating youth into the process and establishing maintenance and spare parts centers.