Government spokesman: The Nouakchott International Book Fair will be held between October 20 and 26.

The Minister of Culture, Arts, Communication, and Relations with Parliament, the spokesperson for the government, Mr. El-Hussein Ould Medou, stated that the Nouakchott International Book Fair will be held from October 20 to 26, with the participation of more than 70 Arab, African, and international publishing houses, in order to enhance the status of books and researchers in Mauritania.

In his response to a question on the subject during his comments on the results of the Cabinet meeting this evening in Nouakchott, alongside the Minister of State for the General Secretariat of the Government and the Minister of Education and Educational Reform, he added that the exhibition will be organized by the Ministry of Culture under the high patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani.

Regarding the draft decree that includes the definition and mechanisms for the establishment and management of museums, the government spokesperson clarified that the project aims to provide a legal and regulatory framework for organizing museums and encouraging their establishment by creating a licensing mechanism for museums. He pointed out that the draft law represents a practical step towards organizing the museum sector, in line with the President’s vision to establish citizenship, enhance national unity, invigorate the cultural arena, and encourage creativity.

He added that the project is the result of a wide consultation process carried out by the sector, relying on technical and legal expertise. The consultations included stakeholders in the field to formulate realistic provisions that take into account the uniqueness of the sector and its actual needs, leading to the establishment of a multi-sector committee tasked with studying files based on scientific and professional criteria, defining precise conditions for establishing museums, organizing inspection and monitoring procedures, and setting penalties, as well as creating a label for the museums of Mauritania.

The Minister indicated that the draft law comes within the framework of a new dynamic witnessed by the Mauritanian heritage sector, as it includes the establishment of museums in all state capitals. Work has also recently begun on building museums in Kiffa,Aioun, Chinguetti, and Ouadane.

In turn, the Minister responsible for the General Secretariat of the Government, Mr. Mokhtar El-Husseino Lam, clarified during his comment on the statement regarding the development of the major project portfolio from July 1 to August 31, that the average execution of projects during this period reached 58.4%, which is an increase of 6.12% in the mentioned two months (an average of 3.06% per month), demonstrating the continued progress in project execution, despite a slight decline in the execution of some projects during the month of August due to the rains.

He added that the current portfolio of transactions consists of 112 deals with a financial cover reaching 48.1 billion new ouguiyas, distributed across 13 ministerial sectors, aimed at social and economic development, praising the efforts made by the state recently to remove many obstacles, which has resulted in achieving significant results on one hand, and paved the way for launching new projects on the other hand.

Regarding the Nouakchott modernization program, the Minister stated that the level of implementation of this program reached 50% by the end of August, with a noticeable development recorded in July and August of 8.9 and 7.3 points respectively.

She added that the first phase of the project will benefit 1,000 teachers in the first three years, excluding retirees during those years, as they will be allowed to benefit from housing through a transitional period with specific mechanisms. The second phase will benefit 1,700 teachers, aiming to reach the higher target of 2,250 teachers annually.

The Minister confirmed that the housing costs (7 million old ouguiyas) will be covered by the state at 75%, which equals more than 5 million, while the teacher will only pay 25%, through installment payments of a nominal amount not exceeding 9720 old ouguiyas per month, noting that the process of benefiting from housing was based on practical criteria, such as seniority and the number of children.

The Minister indicated that the establishment of a fund for teachers’ housing, which was announced by His Excellency the President in his electoral program, was followed by the formation of a ministerial committee, resulting in a technical committee that includes representatives from education unions, tasked with developing a practical mechanism for implementing the project. This was followed by practical steps to prepare the legal texts for implementing the fund, emphasizing that the government will form a ministerial committee to oversee its implementation.