Full text of speech:
Statement by Mohamed Yahya Ould Sidi Haiba, Chargé d’Affaires Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to the Conservative Council group
3 November 2014
Dear chairman and Members of the Conservative Council,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good afternoon everyone, it’s a great pleasure and honour for me to join you all today and my sincere gratitude to the organisers for offering me this unique opportunity to present my Country to you.
1. General Information
Mauritania is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Senegal to the south, Mali to the south and east, Algeria to the north-east and Western Sahara to the north-west. Mauritania’s geographic position as a bridge between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa has made it a melting pot of civilizations, with a rich sociocultural heritage.
The population of Mauritania is roughly 3,500,000 citizens.
Mauritania is a multi-ethnic and multicultural country. Arabs make up the majority of the population, which also includes other cultures Pular, Soninke and Wolof minorities.
2. Constitutional, political and legal structure
In accordance with article 1 of the Constitution of 20 July 1991, Mauritania is “a republic”. It ensures “all citizens equality before the law, without distinction as to origin, race, sex or social condition”.
The republican State is characterized by a clear separation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
The President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage for a once-renewable term of five years. The President defines national policy, which is implemented by the Government headed by a Prime Minister.
Legislative power is exercised by the Parliament, which adopts laws and oversees Government action. The Parliament is divided into a lower house, the National Assembly, and an upper house, the Senate.
Mauritania has a decentralized and devolved administrative structure. Its territory is organized into several administrative levels: district (13), County (54) and Borough (216).
Last legislative and municipal elections were held in December 2013. Presidential elections were held in June 2014 and the President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was re-elected for a second term.
3- Political life & Civil Liberties
The Constitution of 1991 signaled Mauritania political openness and pluralistic democracy as planned. However, it was not until 2009 that the country experienced a significant improvement in political stability as a result of a broad consensus among political actors (power and opposition) that prevailed in 2009 and opened the way for presidential elections (July 2009) with the participation of all the leaders of the opposition.
Today we have over 70 political parties, three poles (Majority, radical opposition and moderate opposition). Mauritania enjoys Freedom of Expression, public opinion is broadcast on four television channels (one public and three privately owned), five radio stations (one public and four privately owned) in addition to a dozen of newspapers and electronic news sites.
4. Security
Just like its neighboring African countries, Mauritania faces the challenge of building its defense and security policies that suite its means and meet the types of existing challenges and threats; as disproportionate wars and threats were carried by rebellions, guerrillas, terrorists and organized crime groups.
Mauritania is a vast country with an area of 1,030,000 km2 and frontier lines of 5000 km. A large proportion of the country consists of the Sahara desert but enjoys a long coastal frontage on the Atlantic ocean of 754 km, providing a buffer zone between the ocean and the Sahel region. Most of its terrain is rugged and difficult while the Sahara zones have a low population density.
This is not new; the Sahara has always been an area with elusive parameters that are extremely difficult to control and located on the outskirts of the controlled territories. It is a Lawless Grey Zone we call in Arabic "bilad Esseiba". Designations vary for these areas which are often a safe haven for those who seek to rebel against the mainland and to establish their bases of assaults.
Meanwhile, The Sahel has also become a vast area that is hard to control and increasingly plagued by insecurity. The economic and ecological problems that typify this region have deeply impacted its inhabitants and made it one the most underdeveloped region of the continent. Because of this dual vulnerability, the Sahel has become one of the most targeted places for terrorism, illicit and criminal activities of all kinds.
We measure the following three risk :
• Infiltration attempts by terrorist groups in the countries of the sub region directly targeting domestic or foreign interests thrive principally in relaxed security policies and underdeveloped environments.
• Proliferation of drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime increases serious direct threats particularly in targeted areas like Europe.
• Illegal immigration transiting through Mauritania has a destabilizing factor for Europe and insecurity for all. In particular, illegal immigration creates for Mauritania great difficulties on multiple levels, including economic and security ones.
In Mauritania we understand the correlation between human security, good governance and sustainable development as it becomes increasingly strong. Indeed, it becomes clear that insecurity obliterates development just as poverty and misery generate conflict and insecurity. This is particularly noticeable in sub-Saharan Africa.
Today the situation has improved considerably. After experiencing several years of turmoil during which terrorist groups have struck the country (2005-2010), efforts to modernize the armed and security forces to neutralize those threats were undertaken in the desert part of the country and in the north of Mali, against persistent terrorist groups with great success.
As part of its defense and security policy, Mauritania pursues a close sub-regional, regional and international cooperation. This cooperation aims to strengthen exchanges in communication, diplomacy, information, expertise and intelligence. Because only a shared view on common interests and threats can overcome these security issues.
5. Foreign policy
Mauritania’s Foreign policy objectives continue to serve the highest interests of the state as well to consolidate its positive role in the Arab world, Africa and internationally.
The main axes of our foreign policy are relations with neighboring countries, regional and sub-regional integration, international peace and security, promoting dialogue, cooperation and upholding shared economic interests.
Mauritanian diplomatic action is based on its two geographical variants: the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. Its dual heritage implies engagement on both fronts. Mauritania is a Member of the Arab Maghreb Union as well as ECOWAS.
Being a Member of the Maghreb Union, Mauritania joined the Barcelona process to establish the "Euro-Mediterranean Partnership” Project. This process aims at transforming this cosmopolitan region into a" zone of peace and prosperity". Similarly, Mauritania cooperates with NATO in defense matters that constitute a strategic pillar of our country’s defense and security policy.
During the 60s and 70s Mauritanian diplomacy was very dynamic and positioned itself as a key partner on African issues and was a gateway to African countries for many world powers back then.
However, these diplomatic achievements ended with the start of the ‘state of emergency’ period which impacted negatively on the country until the mid 2000s. It was only in recent years that Mauritania revived its prestigious diplomatic past and regained its well-deserved position in the AU in a more prominent manner. The President of the Republic, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz chaired in 2010 and 2011 panels of Heads of the AU States for the settlement of both Ivorian and Libyan crises.
It was in the context of strategic realignment that the Sahel G5 (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad) was created to coordinate the efforts of these countries in terms of security and for the development of the sub-region.
Currently the President of the Republic is the Chairman of the AU since January 2014. As such, he focused all efforts on major crises and challenges facing the African continent (food security, the development of agribusiness and fighting poverty and malnutrition). It was in the name of Africa that he addressed the first Afro-American summit in Washington last summer and at the podium of the UN General Assembly last September. Dotted with the same dedication, he will participate at the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia this November.
6. Economic Overview
Mauritania continues to enjoy macroeconomic stability, mainly thanks to a buoyant mining sector.Real GDP grew at roughly 6.7% in 2013 and is likely to see sustained growth around 6.5% in the next three years.
Historically high international prices of raw materials, combined with prudent policies, helped the country to consolidate macroeconomic stability, strengthen international reserves, and increase fiscal space.
The Mauritanian economy relies on five sectors: mining, oil and gas, fisheries, agriculture& live stock as well as tourism. Despite the significant potential of these sectors, some structural weaknesses continue to hinder them. Our main objective is to promote these sectors and attract Foreign Direct Investment to develop them.
We have created a free zone in the north of the Country (Nouadhibou) and have recently improved our investment code with the aim to provide investors with a range of incentives and facilitations.