On 22 to 24 December 2025, WestMED’s Mauritanian National Hub and the National Coordinator of the WestMED initiative actively participated in the stakeholder consultative workshop on the development of the national blue economy strategy in Mauritania, Nouakchott. This workshop was organised by the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union (AU-IBAR).
It followed on from three similar workshops organised by AU-IBAR in Senegal, Gambia and Ghana. Its objective was to launch the process of developing the national blue economy strategy.
The workshop was attended by some 30 representatives of the relevant public bodies.
After an official opening session led by the Secretary-General of the MPIMP, participants attended two presentations on the pan-African blue economy strategy and its implementation plan, and the blue economy strategy of the Arab Maghreb Union.
Subsequently, three groups were organised, with a focus on:
- Identification of objectives, priority areas and thematic areas for the development of the blue economy in Mauritania;
- Identification of objectives and priority actions for national blue economy implementation plans; and
- Identification of national coordination and blue governance mechanisms. At the end of this work, proposals and guidelines were identified to guide the development of a national blue economy strategy document, which will be submitted to the Mauritanian Government for approval in 2026.
In their presentations, Dr. Mohamed Lemine Abdel Hamid, WestMED’s Mauritanian National Hub, and Dr. Mohamed Lemine Naffa, National Coordinator of the WestMED Initiative, presented the WestMED initiative, its technical Assistance Mechanism and its main achievements since 2019.
They strongly emphasised the need to coordinate efforts and involve all partners engaged in the blue economy in Mauritania, notably the WestMED Initiative and the World Bank, in order to develop synergies and capitalise on experiences, which will lead to an inclusive national strategy adapted to the realities of the Mauritanian context.
This proposal was well received by the representatives of the African Union and was included in the workshop report that will be submitted to the Mauritanian Government and the specialised services of the African Union.