Foreign Affairs Ministry Holds Meeting To Monitor Situation of Mauritanian Community in Gulf, Middle East
On March 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Mauritanians Abroad held the first meeting of its crisis unit, responsible for monitoring the situation in the Gulf region and the Middle East, via video conference. The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Demane Hamar, Secretary General of the Ministry.
In his address, the Secretary General explained that His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the President of the Republic, had given instructions to closely monitor developments in the region and take all necessary measures to assist the Mauritanian community and provide it with the necessary support in the current circumstances.
He indicated that, in accordance with these directives, the ministry had created a special crisis unit tasked with monitoring the situation of the Mauritanian community in the Gulf and Middle East countries. This is being achieved through direct coordination with Mauritanian diplomatic and consular missions in the region, enabling the situation to be monitored and its potential impact on Mauritanian citizens residing there to be assessed.
He affirmed that the ministry has intensified its efforts to strengthen ongoing communication with the community’s members, follow up on their situation, provide them with the necessary consular advice and support, and respond quickly to any needs that may arise as the situation evolves.
The Secretary General reaffirmed the Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s unwavering commitment to protecting the interests of its citizens abroad and to taking all necessary measures, in coordination with brotherly and friendly countries and the competent authorities, to ensure the safety and well-being of the Mauritanian community.
For his part, Ambassador Mohamed Maouloud Mohamed Salem, Director General for Mauritanians Abroad, explained that the Ministry had set up a crisis unit as soon as the events in the region began and had placed its diplomatic and consular missions on high alert to ensure a rapid response to any requests for assistance or support from Mauritanian citizens in the region.
He added that a toll-free helpline had been set up at the Ministry’s Emergency Center, along with international contact numbers via WhatsApp, to enable community members to report any difficulties they encounter.
He said that the current situation was reassuring, as no members of the Mauritanian community in the region had been exposed to any danger and no citizens were stranded in countries affected by the unrest.
The ambassadors participating in the meeting indicated that Mauritanian diplomatic missions had begun communicating with Mauritanian nationals in the early days of the crisis, whether they were residents wishing to leave the country or citizens prevented from crossing some Gulf countries.
They added that coordination had been established with the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman to obtain transit visas.
Several citizens also traveled by land from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait to Saudi Arabia and Oman before returning home by plane.
The Mauritanian ambassadors accredited to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, as well as members of the crisis unit responsible for monitoring the situation in the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East, attended the meeting.