Nouakchott, 30 April 2016: A multidisciplinary team from the Economic Commission for Africa (Office for North Africa) carried out a data collection mission in Nouakchott on 25-29 April, in preparation for the ECA Mauritania Country Profile.
The ECA team met Minister of Oil, Energy and Mining Mohamed Salem Ould Béchir, Minister of Livestock Vatma Vall Mint Souina, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, Mohamed Ould Kembou and Mauritania Central Bank Governor Mr Abdel Aziz Dahi. The ECA team also met a number of high-level Mauritanian civil servants including the Secretary Generals of the Ministries of Economy and Finance, Agriculture and Health and the Director General of the National Statistics Office.
Mauritania’s socio-economic context, the application of Agenda 2030 and gender issues were also among topics discussed with the UNDP team.
The ECA team learned about Mauritania’s Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity Strategy (2016-2030), national economic and monetary policies, reforms to improve the business climate and projects for a new industrial strategy. The team also sought to raise their interlocutors’ awareness about the need to align the new, global, Sustainable Development Objectives (SDGs) with the Agenda 2063 objectives at the national level.
The mission’s exchange with the Mauritanian authorities will enable the ECA to produce a country profile mainly based on national data and focused on the recent challenges the country has been confronted with. The ECA country profiles were launched in April 2016 to provide periodic assessments focusing on policy analysis, regional integration and economic transformation, and provide African countries with a tool for forecasting and risk analysis.
Mauritania is focusing efforts on the development of structuring infrastructures, with a focus on areas such as transport and energy. The country has increased renewable electricity production to 32% in 2015 as part of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative and now aims to further increase renewable energy production and set up decentralised solutions in isolated areas. Mauritania is also seeking to optimise production in the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors. The country’s livestock sector accounts for 13% of the national GDP and provides 75% of the population with income.
Click here for more information about ECA Country Profiles, and to access ECA publications on North Africa.
Press release issued by:
Communication Team
Economic Commission for Africa
Office for North Africa
Tel: +212 (0) 537 548 749
Email: hfilali-ansary@uneca.org; cea.an.coms@gmail.com