Mauritania stakeholders celebrate nation’s FiTI “compliant” status

NOUAKCHOTT, July 08-18, 2024. The FiTI International Secretariat conducted a mission to Mauritania to attend the Compliant Event organised by the Ministry of Fisheries, Port and Maritime Infrastructures (MPIMP) and discuss with key stakeholder and partners about how to successfully maintain the compliance status  of the country and, ultimately, enhance the participatory governance of its fisheries sector.

On July 14, 2025, at the Fasc Hotel in Nouakchott, Mauritania held a compliant event to celebrate the country’s compliance with the FiTI Standard. The event brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including the Minister of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructures – His Excellency Mr El Fadil Ould Sidaty Ahmed Louly – members of the government, the diplomatic corps, technical and financial partners and representatives of the sector’s professional organisations.

The compliant event follows the FiTI International Board decision, during its 29th meeting on April 3, 2025, to grant Mauritania an overall ‘Compliant’ status in implementing the FiTI Standard during the validation time frame (April 2022 – July 2024).

Validations act as the FiTI’s quality assurance mechanism, safeguarding the integrity of the initiative by holding all FiTI implementing countries to the same global standard. Validations, therefore, offer a unique opportunity to conduct an objective and standardised verification of a country’s past performance. It also helps identify lessons learned, enhancement opportunities and corrective actions to strengthen further the operational effectiveness of the FiTI implementation and the initiative’s overall impact on the sustainable management of a country’s marine fisheries. However, the validation process is not only a purely technical, audit-like exercise, but it also considers the context in which fishing activities and the implementation of the FiTI happen in the country.

The FiTI International Secretariat was represented at the event by Mr Mansor Ndour, FiTI Regional Coordinator for Francophone Africa. On behalf of the FiTI International Board and the FiTI International Secretariat, Mr. Ndour congratulated the Government of Mauritania, in particular His Excellency, Mr El Fadil Ould Sidaty Ahmed Louly, Minister of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructures, and his predecessors at the head of the Fisheries Department, for their commitment and support for the initiative. He also congratulated all the other staff involved, in particular the FiTI National Lead, the FiTI National Secretary, the National Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) members and the partners (GIZ, PRCM, etc.) who supported the process.

During his remarks, Mr Ndour pointed out that although Mauritania has achieved “compliant” status, the validation has also identified areas where further efforts are required to ensure that the country’s compliant status in the FiTI is retained over time. To address this, the FiTI International Board has formulated several corrective actions that Mauritania should undertake over the next few months. This includes, inter alia, improving and maintaining support for the country’s FiTI National Multi-Stakeholder Group, continuously enhancing data availability in the public domain by improving web accessibility, and encouraging and promoting more public debates within the sector.

At the end of his speech, Mr Ndour presented to the Minister of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructure, His Excellency Mr El Fadil Ould Sidaty Ahmed Louly, the “Conformity Certificate” issued to Mauritania by the FiTI International Board.

The Minister of Fisheries welcomed this recognition as a reflection of the will of public authorities, under the leadership of His Excellency President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani, to establish transparency and promote sustainable and equitable fisheries management. He stressed the importance of the fight against corruption and the systematic public publication of fisheries data.

On the sidelines of the Compliant Event, Mr Ndour presented the FiTI International Board’s corrective actions to Mauritania’s National MSG. In return, the corrective actions have been integrated into the updated National MSG action plan which will be submitted to partners wishing to support the process. It was in this context that Mr Ndour met with the GIZ team to explore the possibilities of providing financial support for the implementation of the National MSG Action Plan.

Mr Ndour also met with the Minister of Fisheries and emphasised the need for sustained support for the National MSG and the FiTI National Secretariat. Minister Sidaty pledged to engage in the implementation of the corrective actions recommended by the FiTI International Board and the National MSG Action Plan. “Our country is committed to transparency and my department will do what is necessary to ensure that Mauritania forever maintains its ‘compliant’ status”, stated the Minister.