Madar (Nouakchott) - Mauritania's Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, Mohamedou Ahmedou M'Haimid, on Wednesday, 11 November 2026 in Nouakchott signed a 41-million-euro financing agreement, equivalent to about 1.854 billion new ouguiyas, with the French ambassador to Mauritania and the country director of the French Development Agency (AFD), to fund a project to improve drinking-water services in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, according to the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI).
The project aims to reduce technical and commercial losses in the water network and strengthen its capacity through an investment programme that includes rehabilitating existing infrastructure and improving the organisation and operations of the national water company, SNDE.
It includes the rehabilitation and construction of 150,000 water connections, which should improve water supply for about 1.6 million people, particularly in vulnerable neighbourhoods on the edges of urban networks, as well as improving the network's technical performance, reducing water losses, and strengthening SNDE's capacity and its relationship with users.
Speaking at the ceremony, the minister said the project is part of President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani's commitment to improving access to essential services for urban and rural residents and to reviving strategic public institutions, adding that recent efforts had raised access to water services to more than 77%.
The French ambassador said the agreement reflects France's commitment to supporting Mauritania and its development priorities, adding that water and sanitation is one of Mauritania's strategic sectors and one of the priorities of cooperation between the two countries.
The signing took place in the presence of the Minister of Water and Sanitation, the secretary-general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development and several officials from both sectors, according to the same source.
