Yaoundé has recently become a focal point for Mauritanian diplomacy, with two ministers visiting within a single week. On June 24, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani dispatched Bessouda Mohamed Laghdaf, the Minister of Environment, as a special envoy to the Unity Palace. She carried a sealed communication addressed directly to President Paul Biya. The explicit objective of this high-level visit was to secure Cameroon’s crucial endorsement for Coumba Bâ’s candidacy for the esteemed position of Secretary General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
A thirty-minute audience and an unequivocal message delivered
Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the Minister of State and Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, received the Mauritanian emissary late that afternoon. He acted on behalf of President Paul Biya, who was not present in Yaoundé at the time. The meeting lasted approximately thirty minutes, during which Minister Bessouda Mohamed Laghdaf made no attempt to conceal the purpose of her mission.
“We are carrying a message from the Mauritanian head of state, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, intended for his brother, President Paul Biya. We delivered this message in a sealed envelope to the Secretary General of the Presidency,” she informed the press upon her departure from the Unity Palace.
The arrival of two ministers in Yaoundé within a week, each bearing a sealed message for President Biya, clearly signifies a well-orchestrated diplomatic campaign. The groundwork had been laid on June 18, when Mauritania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, delivered the initial message to the Cameroonian head of state.
The candidate championed by Nouakchott is Coumba Bâ, currently serving as an advisor to the Mauritanian presidency. Minister Bessouda emphasized Cameroon’s significant influence, portraying it as a nation capable of impacting the “balance between the various regions,” a balance that Mauritania aims to embody through this strategic candidacy.
Reciprocity strategy rooted in a past African Development Bank precedent
This Mauritanian diplomatic offensive is not without historical context. In 2025, Cameroon had extended its support to Sidi Ould Tah’s candidacy for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a contest Mauritania ultimately won. Nouakchott now seeks to replicate this successful formula, this time for the OIF leadership.
It is difficult to overlook the clear and almost overtly stated strategy of reciprocity underpinning Mauritania’s approach. Indeed, the Mauritanian minister spoke to the press about a “win-win partnership,” underscoring the mutual benefits of such an alliance.
Nouakchott’s broader diplomatic efforts also target consultations within the OIF, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). This indicates that Cameroon is being solicited on multiple fronts simultaneously. The official response from Yaoundé, and its timing, remains to be seen.
