Mauritania has secured a joint 12 million Euro grant from France and the European Union for sustainable development in the country’s rural areas, reports from Nouakchott said Friday.
This grant will finance part of the programme supporting productive investment in the energy sector.
Mobilised within the framework of the Sahel coalition for the benefit of this programme, the financing was the subject of two agreements signed on Friday in Nouakchott between Mauritania’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Moctar Ould Diay and the ambassador and the director of the French Development Agency (AFD), Robert Moullié and Lionel Yondo respectively.
The funding will benefit people in three remote border areas in the east of the country, Ould Diay said at the signing ceremony.
The beneficiary regions, he explained, are characterized by their highly agro-pastoral activities and are perfectly receptive to the creation of conditions conducive to sustainable economic and social development.
According to the minister, the planned projects are likely to support the Mauritanian government’s efforts in rural electrification to reduce disparities between the area and urban centres.
It is also meant to address rural exodus by making communication, education and health services available in the targeted areas.
MOO/te/lb/as/APA