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Tag: Mauritania

  • Mauritania adopts e-visa system to modernise international travel

    Mauritania adopts e-visa system to modernise international travel

    Mauritania has taken a bold step toward modernising its travel and immigration systems with the launch of its electronic visa (e-Visa) platform, effective January 5, 2025. The fully digital system replaces traditional sticker visas and on-arrival visa services, offering international visitors a streamlined and efficient application process.

    The e-Visa initiative, introduced by the National Agency for the Population Register and Secure Titles (ANRPTS), aims to simplify travel procedures while enhancing border security. Travelers can now apply for visas online via the official ANRPTS website. The system requires applicants to provide personal details, passport information, and the purpose of their visit. Supporting documents, such as a passport-style photo and a scanned copy of the passport, must also be uploaded.

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    Upon approval, travelers receive an e-Visa document containing a QR code, which they must present upon arrival for biometric verification. This digital-first approach reduces the need for embassy visits and lengthy in-person applications, significantly cutting down processing times and improving traveler convenience.

    Improved security and efficiency

    The introduction of the e-Visa system aligns Mauritania with global trends in digital travel solutions. The new platform enhances the country’s ability to monitor and regulate international arrivals while minimizing border delays. Biometric data collection at entry points ensures a smoother and more secure immigration process for travelers.

    However, nationals from 11 neighbouring countries—Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara—are exempt from the e-Visa requirement and can continue to visit Mauritania without applying online.

    For travellers required to apply for an e-Visa, the fees vary based on the duration of the stay, with a 30-day visa costing approximately €55 or $60. Payments are processed upon arrival in Mauritania, followed by biometric data collection to finalise the visa entry procedure.

    Read also: Thailand launch e-Visa application for Nigerians, Ghanaians, other African nations

    A step toward digital transformation

    This move is part of Mauritania’s commitment to leverage technology for economic and social development. By adopting a digital visa system, the country aims to attract more international visitors, improve operational efficiency, and ensure compliance with modern security standards.

    The e-Visa platform represents a significant milestone in Mauritania’s efforts to position itself as a forward-thinking destination for tourism and business. Travelers are encouraged to apply for their e-Visas well in advance to ensure a hassle-free journey to the nation.

  • Madagascar, Mauritania Get $36.5m Clean Cooking And $40 M Water Supply Project Funding

    Madagascar, Mauritania Get $36.5m Clean Cooking And $40 M Water Supply Project Funding

    The Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved $36.5 million for Madagascar’s clean cooking systems project. The global body is also financing Mauritania’s $40 million Kiffa drinking water supply initiative.

    OFID is offering Madagascar the funds as loans and grants to speed up the country’s access to clean cooking. The aim of the project is to reduce deforestation in the East African nation significantly.

    The fund was received by the National Clean Cookery Transition Programme in Madagascar, which includes a $1.5 million grant. 

    OFID’s financing is part of a $500 million multi-country package announced on December 15, 2022,, board, by the group at the boards’ board meeting for the year 2022.

    The national transition programoforOFID2022,n cooking in Madagascar, aims to improve access to clean cooking throughout the country. As such, the Malagasy government will use the OFID fund to accelerate the deployment of clean cooking systems.

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    Reducing 850,000 Tonnes Of CO

    By 2023, 35,000 upgraded stoves would be made “at affordable prices” available to Malagasy homes through the program. The upgraded stoves will burn ethanol made sustainably in homes, i.e., by fermenting sugar or converting starch from grains and other agricultural or agroforestry resources. 

    The traditional three-stone cooking method, which is to blame for a multitude of respiratory ailments in the East African nation, will be replaced by environmentally friendly burners. The improved stoves will aid Madacar’s fight against deforestation and lower 850,000 tonnes of cetric tons monoxide (CO) emissions. Reforestation is actually a part of the scheme, allowing for the planting of 1,500 hectares of forest. 

    Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), an organization that works with the UN, governments, the private sector, financial institutions, and civil society to strengthen and spur action to reach Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) by 2030, says that less than 1% of households in Madagascar use clean fuels and only 1% of households use improved wood or charcoal. Madagascar is also the country in Africa with the lowest use of clean cooking devices.

    Mauritania’s Drinking Water Supply Project

    The Kiffa drinking water supply project in southern Mauritania is getting $40 million from the Board of Directors of the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID). 

    The funding project was launched on December 15,2022,2 by the intergovernmental development finance institution based in Vienna, Austria.

    OFID is among a number of other development partners in the drinking water project, including the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).

    Financing The Drinking Water Project

    According to OFID, its loan will be used to fund the construction of a new drinking water treatment plant. Raw water from the Senegal River will be moved to the plant by four new pumping stations. Several tanks will be used to store the drinking water. 

    By 2035, a 250-km water network that connects 90 communities and provides service to more than 550,000 people, or more than 20% of Mauritania’s population, will also be a component of the Kiffa Water Project. Water constraints in Mauritania also hasten the spread of water-borne illnesses (cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, polio, etc.). 

    The goal is to lower the risk of these diseases in the town of Kiffa and the places around it. 

    The project will cost $317 million to complete. The Kiffa water project will also add 3,000 jobs to the water industry.