Madar (Nouakchott) - Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament Minister and government spokesman Mohamed Ould Bebana said Mauritania is "closely following developments in its regional environment," stressing its commitment to the principle of positive neutrality and that it sees itself "as part of the solution, not part of the problem," the Mauritanian News Agency reported.
He was answering a question at a press conference on Wednesday evening, November 4, 2026, on the results of the cabinet meeting, alongside the economy and higher-education ministers, without specifying which developments he meant.
On the private press and public support for the media, the minister said his department is open to private media outlets, adding that consultations continue with media actors on support mechanisms and the fund's outputs, with final decisions to be taken in line with the law.
Economic Affairs and Development Minister Mohamedou Ahmedou Mhaimid announced the creation of a national public procurement observatory to collect data and produce reports, as part of a reform that renames the regulator the "Public Procurement Regulatory Authority" with wider powers and turns the oversight commission into the "National Public Procurement Control Commission."
He said oversight has been reorganised on three levels, sectoral, multi-sectoral and national, and that the decree reserves a share for qualified national companies competing against foreign firms, without specifying the size of that share.
Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Yacoub Ould Amine said the special statute brings four corps into a single framework, university teacher-researchers, hospital-university teachers, technology teachers and researchers, and integrates research staff at the IMROP fisheries institute.
