October 12, 2026. The Minister of Foreign Affairs chaired a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in preparation for the first edition of the Forum of Mauritanian Communities Abroad.
His Excellency the Minister for Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Mauritanians from abroad, Mr. Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, chaired today, Monday, in the meeting room of the Ministry headquarters, a meeting by videoconference with the heads of diplomatic and consular missions, as part of the ongoing preparations for the organization of the first edition of the Forum of Mauritanian Communities from Abroad, to be held in Nouakchott on 29, 30 and 31 October, under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Sheikh Ghazouani.
The meeting was devoted to finalizing the programme of the forum, monitoring progress in preparations and resolving outstanding issues, in order to ensure the optimal conditions for the success of the event.
In his opening address, the Minister stressed the vital importance of diplomatic and consular missions, in communicating with Mauritanian citizens living abroad, protecting their interests, bringing their services closer together and strengthening their ties with their homeland, stressing the expected role of these missions in mobilizing communities and encouraging their participation in Forum activities.
CBDC explained that the assumption of responsibility for Mauritanian communities abroad occupies a special place in the electoral programme of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Sheikh El Ghazouani, and that the Government, headed by His Excellency the Prime Minister, Mr. Mokhtar Ould Djay, is endeavouring to translate it into public policies and concrete action plans.
In this context, the Minister reviewed a number of reforms and measures aimed at strengthening the links between citizens living abroad and their homeland, including the restructuring of the foreign affairs sector and the inclusion of Mauritanians from abroad in its official designation, the revision of the Nationality Act to enable citizens with foreign nationality to retain their Mauritanian nationality, and the strengthening of the political representation of the communities, by enabling them to elect representatives to the National Assembly, as well as the reconciliation of civil and consular services, through the “Houweyiti” application: “My Identity” and the digital consular services platform.
He stressed that the organization of this forum is a continuation of these reforms and embodies the ambitious guidelines of His Excellency the President of the Republic, aimed at strengthening the care of Mauritanians from abroad and involving them in the national development process.
The Minister explained that the preparation of the forum took a participatory approach, based on direct consultation with communities and taking into account their concerns and aspirations, noting that the Ministry had sent delegations to 23 countries across the four continents, where meetings had been held with community members, representatives of associations and unions, experts, business men and women, youth and students.
He added that these meetings identified the main challenges facing citizens in their countries of residence and listened to their suggestions on consular services, social and legal protection, education and culture, investment, transport, financial transfers, community organization and skills mobilization.
In the same context, he mentioned that the Ministry had organized a day of consultation on 30 June 2026, dedicated to the presentation and discussion of the results of the consultation cycles with representatives of government sectors, national institutions, stakeholders and relevant partners, which enabled the identification of the themes of the forum and the formulation of key community requests.
The Minister noted that the Council of Ministers, at its meeting on 16 September 2026, had approved a declaration concerning the organization of the Forum of Mauritanian Communities Abroad, thus giving the preparations a formal framework, reflecting the importance of this event.
The heads of diplomatic and consular missions called for increased awareness campaigns at the forum, its objectives, themes and mechanisms of participation, using various available means of communication, including direct meetings, social media platforms, association networks, links and community groups.
He stressed the need to broaden the scope of engagement, to include the different components of communities, and not be limited to entities and individuals with whom missions are used to communicating, while paying particular attention to scientific and professional skills, investors and businessmen, researchers and workers, doctors, engineers, teachers and students, as well as women, youth and successful initiatives and experiences.
He also urged missions to step up their efforts to promote the digital platforms recently launched by the Ministry, including the Consular Services Platform and the Community and Skills Platform, and to encourage citizens to register and benefit from the services they offer, while providing the necessary support to those who face technical difficulties in using them.
He pointed out that these platforms are part of a strategic direction to modernize consular work and digitize its services, noting that the Department is endeavouring to progressively adopt them as a basic tool for the provision of services and consular documents, in addition to registering skills, organizations and community associations.
The Minister called for the use of this forum to organize large-scale registration processes for communities, talents and associations, which would contribute to the development of a national database to facilitate planning, service improvement and public policy direction.
He explained that this forum represents an opportunity to change relations with Mauritanian communities abroad, from occasional communication to permanent institutional partnership, and an individual response to requests for an integrated national policy towards Mauritanians abroad, expressing the hope that diplomatic and consular missions will play their part in the success of this approach.
At the meeting, the heads of diplomatic missions, each in their respective areas of responsibility, congratulated His Excellency the President of the Republic and expressed their appreciation for the progress made in the development of the country and for the initiative to organize this important event for the benefit of citizens living abroad.
The interventions reviewed the efforts made to prepare the forum, the level of communication with community members, the number of people covered so far by the mobilization campaigns, as well as the difficulties that hinder their work and the proposals to overcome them.
Participants also stressed the importance of this forum as an opportunity to respond to the old and renewed demands of Mauritanian communities abroad, noting the need for concerted efforts to ensure broad participation and the success of this national event.
The meeting was attended by Ambassador Demane Hamar, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Mauritanians from abroad, as well as several officials of the Ministry.