50 million from ICO
The Mauritanian government has given formal approval to a far-reaching bilateral financing agreement with the Kingdom of Spain. The Council of Ministers of the African country has validated a draft law authorising the signing of a €50 million loan issued through the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO). This funding injection, equivalent to 2,280 million ouguiyas (MRU), will be used to finance the execution of the so-called Senegal River Valley Community Resilience and Development Project. The measure now needs to be backed by Senegal. The logic, as stated, is that by drawing on Spanish debt, it would be a Spanish company executing the investments, and in that area, among the Canary Islands, the companies with the most experience are based in Fuerteventura.
Africa water fair to be held in Senegal
In 2027, Africagua, the international water forum in Fuerteventura that connects the Canary Islands with West Africa, will take place in Senegal as a platform for direct on-the-ground cooperation across West Africa, highlights Juan Jesús Rodríguez Marichal, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Fuerteventura, the main organiser of the international water and sustainable energy fair together with the Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
Terms
The public credit granted by Spanish financial institutions has been structured under highly favourable conditions for Mauritania’s treasury. The financial transaction sets a total 30-year repayment period, bolstered by an initial five-year payment moratorium and a subsidised annual nominal interest rate of 1.42%. This soft-debt structure allows the Maghreb executive to plan the return of capital without compromising short-term budgetary stability, ensuring the economic viability of the planned actions in the border strip.
Infrastructure
The financial allocation will be channelled directly towards modernising the southern Mauritanian territories hit by climate vulnerability and the precariousness of public services. Budget lines will be used for the construction and reinforcement of community infrastructure to counter the severe effects of extreme heat, mitigate the impact of recurrent flooding and contain erosion processes along the riverbanks. At the same time, the financial resources will support transport mobility, logistics connectivity and the creation of regional-scale agricultural marketing networks.
Coverage
The operational scope of this public investment covers an area of marked geopolitical interest for Sahel stability and the containment of migration flows. The programme will be rolled out along the river corridor that defines the southern border, directly covering the Mauritanian provinces of Trarza, Brakna, Gorgol and Guidimakha. While the breakdown by specific budget items remains to be defined, the plan includes measures to encourage cross-border trade and territorial cooperation in one of the northwest of Africa’s areas with the greatest socio-economic pressure.
The entry of €50 million from the ICO for Senegal’s maritime border was first published in canarymaritime.com.
