Madar (Nouakchott) - President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani said on Friday, October 30, 2026, that the first forum of Mauritanian communities abroad reflects a "strong national will" to take relations between the state and its citizens abroad "to a new, more organised and effective level", based on consultation, protecting rights, easier services and mobilising skills, according to the text of his speech published by the Mauritanian News Agency.
At the forum's opening at the Mokhtar Ould Daddah conference centre, the president listed measures he said had been taken since he came to power: reorganising the foreign ministry with a remit for Mauritanians abroad, amending the nationality law to allow dual nationality within legal limits, the direct election of diaspora MPs to the National Assembly, and modernising and digitising consular services through a digital identity app.
He said living abroad "does not cancel citizens' rights or exempt the state from its responsibilities" but "does not exempt emigrants from their duties towards the homeland", urging them to be a "force for building" and a shield for national unity "against smear campaigns and advocates of division".
He called on diaspora business people and investors to seize opportunities in the national economy, create jobs and transfer technology, and asked participants to propose mechanisms to promote and guarantee their investments and ease money transfers, saying he had "ordered all necessary measures to follow up the outcomes" of the forum.
Referring to the delay in holding the forum, the president said strict adherence to his instructions for careful preparation "may have contributed considerably" to it.
Ahead of the forum, the foreign ministry held consultations with the diaspora in 22 countries on consular services, residence, civil documents, legal and social protection, education and identity, according to Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug. They produced demands for a national council for communities abroad, electoral representation for Mauritanians abroad and housing programmes.
The forum is due to close on Saturday with recommendations and a roadmap, after workshops on the diaspora's rights and political participation, with the electoral commission and the National Assembly, and on its role in investment and tourism.
