Two Mauritanian ministers have travelled to Yaoundé within the space of a week. President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani dispatched a second special envoy to the Palais de l’Unité on 24 June: Bessouda Mohamed Laghdaf, Minister of Environment, carrying a sealed letter addressed to Paul Biya. The stated goal is to secure Cameroon’s support for Coumba Bâ’s candidacy for the post of Secretary-General of the International Organisation of la Francophonie.
A sealed letter, a 30-minute audience and a clear message
Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Minister of State and Secretary-General of the Presidency, received the Mauritanian envoy late in the afternoon on behalf of Paul Biya, who was absent from Yaoundé. The meeting lasted approximately thirty minutes. Bessouda Mohamed Laghdaf made no attempt to conceal the purpose of her visit.
“We are carrying a message from the Mauritanian head of state, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, for his brother, President Paul Biya. We handed over this message, a sealed letter, to the Secretary-General of the Presidency,” she told the press as she left the Palais de l’Unité.
Two ministers in one week, a sealed letter for Biya – this is clearly a full-fledged campaign. The Mauritanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, had paved the way on 18 June, delivering an initial message to the head of state.
The candidate backed by Nouakchott is Coumba Bâ, an advisor at the Mauritanian presidency. Minister Bessouda described Cameroon as a country capable of influencing the “balance between different regions” that Mauritania hopes to embody with this candidacy.
A precedent at the AfDB and an acknowledged logic of reciprocity
The Mauritanian approach is not without precedent. In 2025, Cameroon supported the candidacy of Sidi Ould Tah for the presidency of the African Development Bank. Mauritania won that contest. Nouakchott now wants to replicate the formula, this time for the OIF.
It is hard not to see an acknowledged, almost openly claimed logic of reciprocity. The Mauritanian minister even spoke of a “win-win partnership” in front of the press.
Consultations are underway within the OIF, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank, with Nouakchott targeting all these fronts. Cameroon is being solicited on several levels simultaneously.
It remains unclear what official response Yaoundé will give, or when.
