Political stability?
Since its independence in 1960, Mauritania has experienced six coups d'état! The last one was in 2008, against General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who proclaimed himself president in 2009 after claiming victory in a highly contested election. In January 2023, a trial opened against this former president, prosecuted for illicit enrichment.
Since August1, 2019, Mohamed Ould El-Ghazaouani has been in power, his election marking the first peaceful transition in Mauritanian political history! The political parties represented in parliament have gathered around the new president to launch a democratic and social renewal and a republican pact. A first step towards political stability for Mauritania? The day after the 2019 presidential election, access to the Internet was blocked, preventing the free exchange of information...
Facing terrorism
Mauritania claims to be the most peaceful country in the Sahel zone. While terrorist attacks are common in neighboring countries (notably Mali), Mauritania has not experienced any since 2011. The government regularly organizes conferences on Islam, advocating the rejection of violence and extremism, conveying a message of openness, and thus seeking to stem the threat of religious radicalism. In this way, the country hopes to revive tourism, reassuring foreign visitors of its stability. The resumption of tourism in Mauritania would at the same time allow the revival of a very precarious economy. For this, the Point-Afrique agency has been working for many years: in December 2021, after two years of confinement isolating Mauritania from the rest of the world, a flight was again chartered to Atar, Adrar wishing to make a new start.
The Western Sahara issue
According to the United Nations, Western Sahara is currently a non-self-governing territory, disputed by the Kingdom of Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Like other parts of the world - the city of Jerusalem, for example - its final status is in limbo. While a ceasefire remained, in November 2020 it was disrupted: in the area of the Guerguerat border post, while road traffic to Mauritania was frozen by Sahrawi independence fighters, Morocco embarked on an operation to unblock it. Unhappy, the Polisario Front declared a state of war in response... Since then, the two entities have been fighting sporadically. Mauritania imports most of its fruit and vegetables from Morocco, and this conflict has a direct impact on the daily lives of Mauritanians, so it is vital for them to reach an agreement.
A country of transit
Mauritania is a transit country for refugees and migrants seeking to reach North Africa or Europe. It is also a host country for those seeking seasonal employment in the fishing and mining industries. The country's two largest cities, Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, hosted nearly 6,000 refugees in 2020. In the extreme southeast of Mauritania, 60 km from the Malian border, lies the Mbera camp, which is home to more than 55,000 Malian refugees fleeing violence by jihadist groups or the Malian army. the camp is taking on the appearance of a permanent city... Despite a peace agreement that put an end to the uprisings in Mali's northern desert, tensions continue and people are not considering returning to their home country.
Education as an engine of growth
One of Mauritania's challenges is to improve its education system, which is a hindrance to the country's economic development. The lack of access to basic education for some children, the lack of infrastructure and human resources... The government must necessarily contribute to improving the quality of its teachers and reducing absenteeism, as well as emphasizing greater community involvement at the local level. Access to secondary education, especially for girls, is a key issue.
In 2022, Mauritania is committed to strengthening the right to education: a new law makes education compulsory from age 6 to 15 and recognizes that "education is a fundamental right guaranteed to the entire Mauritanian population, without discrimination on the basis of gender and social, cultural, linguistic or geographic origin. The law also prohibits corporal punishment and all forms of moral abuse. UNESCO is accompanying the country in the implementation of this promising law.
Women's empowerment
A project for the empowerment of women and the demographic dividend in the Sahel targets girls aged 10 to 19 who are at risk of forced marriage or early pregnancy. These girls are being supported by the French Development Agency and the World Bank in order to put an end to harmful practices and keep them in school.
For the women artisans working in the country, the meeting within cooperatives allows a better visibility, a mutual aid, as well as an economy a little less fragile.
Note: the creation of the National Observatory of Women's and Girls' Rights in 2020, to fight against all forms of discrimination against them, and to promote their rights in public policies.
New perspectives
Management of natural resources, development of livestock sectors, improvement of health and hygiene, strengthening of food security, access to water, increase in renewable energy sources, these are the actions to be taken to offer Mauritania prospects for growth. Ranked among the world's least developed countries, Mauritania needs to consolidate. Moreover, with successive episodes of drought, and the fishing sector under continuous pressure from foreign factories, the country needs to be supported to face a likely ecological disaster.
A promising prospect on the horizon: an underwater deposit, located 5,200 meters deep offshore, on the border between Mauritania and Senegal, would contain 425 billion cubic meters of gas! A hoped-for financial manna...
