By Kunle SHONUGA
Former United Nations envoy to Yemen, Ismail OuldCheikh Ahmed, was appointed as Mauritania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, in a government reshuffle by the president on Monday.
He replaces IsselkouOuld Ahmed IzidBih as the country’s top diplomat.Ahmed was appointed as the second UN envoy to Yemen in 2015, until he left the post in February.
Previously, he worked with the UN in Yemen and Syria.
Mauritania’s President Mohammed Ould Abdel-Aziz also replaced several other officials, including ministers of trade, culture and youth.
The president was elected to a second five-year term in office in 2014, his final term according to the current constitution.
In 2017, over 85 per cent of Mauritanian voters approved abolishing the country’s upper house of parliament as well as changes to the national flag and national anthem.
The opposition boycotted the referendum on constitutional amendments, saying it aimed at giving the president more power and that he will later attempt to change the constitution to be able to run for a third term
