Mauritania is determined to contribute to the development and deepening of its economic and commercial partnerships with the countries of the continent by taking advantage of its geostrategic position and natural resources, as well as promoting the private sector, a favourable business climate and the numerous investment opportunities that our country offers.
Significant investments have been made in water supply networks, the health system and food security programmes so that these services cover both rural and urban areas in order to meet the aspirations and needs of citizens. The development of growth-sup-porting sectors – particularly transport, energy and telecommunications – plays a key role in improving the living conditions of our population and creating more networks and production sites to better integrate citizens into the economic fabric of the nation.
The health crisis has had negative consequences for Mauritania’s economy, leading to a decline in GDP as well as a drastic reduction in tax revenue and an increase in public expenditure, which has widened the budget deficit. This situation revealed a structural weakness in the economic system and highlighted the importance of strengthening the role of the state in regulating the economy, guiding investment, developing productive sectors and implementing sustained action to achieve the highest level of food self-sufficiency.
To overcome these negative effects and meet the challenges and constraints of the post-Covid-19 period, a comprehensive economic programme with our own funds of MRU240bn has been launched. This self-sustaining programme will be implemented over 30 months and aims to achieve the necessary conditions for economic recovery through a participatory approach that gives the private sector a dynamic economic role, creates more jobs, and allows for the judicious exploitation of natural resources in the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors. This recovery programme, which had already begun by the end of 2021, will promote cohesion between the economy and general policy. It will also promote the goals of the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity 2016-30, as well as make the economic system more environmentally friendly by accelerating progress on sustainable development objectives.
The implementation of this programme will be an opportunity to achieve deep structural change in the economy through an increase in public investment, especially in priority productive sectors; the creation of a strategic investment fund; the integration of economic activities; the simplification of administrative procedures; the improvement of the business climate; and the setting of institutional rules for solid and efficient governance. Regarding this last point, the ambitious development plans that the country has launched require effective governance mechanisms, especially public affairs management in the administrative, diplomatic and political dimensions. As we all know, it is impossible to achieve concrete development results in the absence of a solid and efficient administration with adequate human skills and material resources, given that administration is the main instrument for supervising the activities of the government and society.
In order to properly support all these actions, the country has committed itself to implementing major reforms in the education system to promote specialised education and ensure training aligns with the needs of the labour market, with a particular emphasis on education that is linked to promising economic sectors. Achieving internal development that is in harmony with the international community will undoubtedly require strong diplomacy that achieves consensus with external partners and promotes the country in its best image. That said, the success of major economic programmes does not depend solely on the performance of the state institutions responsible for implementing them, but also requires the participation of the citizenry, who are the primary beneficiaries.
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