Mauritania: First Diaspora Forum Concludes with Seven Recommendations and State Sukuk

The first edition of the forum for Mauritanian communities abroad concluded on the evening of Saturday, October 31, 2026, at the Mokhtar Ould Daddah Conference Palace in Nouakchott, with a final declaration containing seven recommendations, reports the Mauritanian media outlet Madar, citing the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI). Opened the previous day, Friday, October 30, the forum brought together "some 700 participants from all four corners of the globe," according to Sahara Medias.

The seven recommendations outline an institutional architecture for the diaspora. Participants are calling for the creation of a national council for Mauritanian communities abroad; a fund intended to support their investments and channel their money transfers through "safer and less expensive" routes; and the launch of Islamic sukuk reserved for the diaspora and guaranteed by the state, in coordination with the Central Bank.

In addition, there is a call for a national program to mobilize Mauritanian expertise from abroad, a national social assistance fund contributing notably to the repatriation of remains and humanitarian cases, the expansion of the consular network to countries hosting significant communities, and the opening of educational and cultural centers.

Dual Nationality and Deputies Elected by the Diaspora

At the opening, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani listed the measures taken since he came to power: the reorganization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a department dedicated to Mauritanians abroad, the amendment of the nationality law to authorize dual citizenship within a legal framework, the direct election of diaspora deputies to the National Assembly, and the digitization of consular services via a digital identity application, according to Madar.

The head of state established the principle underlying the entire exercise: residing abroad "does not cancel the rights of citizens and does not exempt the state from its responsibilities," he declared, while reminding them in the same breath that expatriates are not exempt from their duties toward the country. He invited diaspora business leaders to create jobs and transfer technologies, and asked the forum for mechanisms to guarantee investments and facilitate money transfers.

Twenty-Two Countries Consulted in Advance

The forum did not come out of nowhere. According to Madar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, indicated that his ministry had consulted the diaspora in 22 countries beforehand regarding consular services, residency, civil status documents, legal and social protection, education, and identity. From these consultations, the requests for a national council, electoral representation, and housing programs had already emerged.

Two workshops structured the proceedings: one on the rights of communities and political participation, involving the National Assembly and the electoral commission (CENI), and the other on the role of the diaspora in investment, tourism, and trade.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs closed the forum on behalf of the president. He pledged to monitor the implementation of the seven recommendations and to report on them regularly to Mauritanians abroad through diplomatic and consular missions. Neither Madar nor Sahara Medias provided a timeline for these measures, nor figures on diaspora money transfers: the roadmap exists, but its translation into legislation remains to be written.