The US State Department’s 2026 report says legal, tax and administrative reforms have improved Mauritania’s investment climate, despite challenges in governance, justice and access to finance. Growth reached 4.2% in 2025 and is expected to stand at 4.8% in 2026, while the report cites the revision of the Investment Code and the law on public-private partnerships, according to Lecalame.
In Mauritania, more than 80% of young plants die, while restoration campaigns highlight areas replanted and numbers of plants put in the ground. Kassataya, drawing in particular on observations from programme stakeholders, denounces the lack of public monitoring of their survival and the use of Great Green Wall funding.
Tijane Thiam has been appointed director general of SOMELEC, Mauritania’s electricity company, amid fires at transformer substations in Nouakchott. His appointment comes as the company’s governance and organisation face criticism, according to Kassataya.
The secretary-general of Mauritania’s Ministry of Social Action, Childhood and Family, Hamoudi Cheikhna Aly, oversaw in Nouakchott the laying of the foundation stone for a training and rehabilitation village for children with disabilities. The ceremony marked the launch of the project in the capital, according to Le Quotidien de Nouakchott.
A man posing as a student in Algeria allegedly scammed several female high-school graduates who had come to Nouakchott, promising university enrolment, a scholarship, accommodation and a plane ticket in return for 1.5 million MRU. Their families paid before losing contact with him and filing a complaint, Le Calame reports.
In Dar El Barka, a Nouakchott neighbourhood, Abidina Doro Coulibaly has turned part of his home into a classroom to accommodate pupils affected by the lack of school facilities. The initiative comes after schools reopened on 5 October, while several Mauritanian localities still lack classrooms, reports RFI.
Naha mint Mouknass has held political positions under several Mauritanian presidents since the early 2000s. The daughter of former Foreign Affairs Minister Hamdi Ould Mouknass, she led the Union for Democracy and Progress from 1999 and became the country’s first woman foreign minister, according to Initiativesnews.
Ahmed Ould Amar Ould Ely, head of operations control at Mauritania Airlines International, is among the 100 leaders of 2026. He was recognised in the “Best Young Leader of the Year” category of the American Global Business Awards, while leading an association and a political youth organisation, according to Lecalame.
Thirty-three Mauritanian journalists from public and private media took part in training in Nouakchott on 9 and 10 October on ethical and rigorous reporting of migration issues. Organised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the workshop covered human trafficking, migrant smuggling and gender issues, Initiativesnews reports.
A kilo of tomatoes has reached 3,500 ouguiyas at the Moroccan market in central Nouakchott, where markets are facing a shortage. Traders attribute the rise to a supply crisis, Sahara Media reports.
Mauritanian military engineer Sidi Abdallah Al Wafi has published a study on a hybrid method combining artificial intelligence and numerical computation to analyse electricity networks more quickly. The approach combines neural networks with the Newton-Raphson algorithm, according to Alakhbar, which cites a research abstract.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ould Bilal Ould Djay has formed a 29-member government in Mauritania, up from 25, following the report on the electricity plants. Kassataya analyses the reshuffle as a continuation of power networks, amid serious fires in the energy sector.
Five young Mauritanians took Team Mauritania to sixth place in the world alliance rankings at the FIRST Global Challenge 2026, held in Incheon, South Korea. The team was also recognised as Africa’s top performer in individual events, with support from the Mauritanian embassy, according to Initiatives News.
