National U.S.–Arab Chamber of Commerce Recognizes Mauritania’s Cissé Boide as 2025 “Ambassador of the Year”

posted on: Sep 30, 2025

This award, begun in 2004, is given annually to a member of the Arab diplomatic corps in the USA for his or her outstanding contributions to U.S. – Arab commercial relations.  The invitation-only award ceremony will take place at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Washington DC in December.  (Click here to see the Ambassador’s biography.) 

“I am deeply honored to receive the Ambassador of the Year award from NUSACC,” Ambassador Boide noted.  “This recognition is especially meaningful because NUSACC stands for unity, empowerment, and partnership – values that I hold close to my heart.  Being an ambassador is never about one person; it is about countries, connections, and collaboration.  I am proud to share this honor with all those who have supported and inspired me along the way.”

She concluded, “Thank you, NUSACC, for this recognition and for the important work that you do.  Together, let us continue building bridges of unity, empowerment, and partnership between the United States and Mauritania.”

This is the third year in a row that NUSACC has presented its Ambassador of the Year award to a female ambassador from North Africa, a reflection of the growing clout of women in the diplomatic corps of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).  Two years ago, NUSACC’s Ambassador of the Year was H.H. Lalla Joumala Alaoui, who was the Kingdom of Morocco’s Ambassador to the United States.  (Click here for a 3-minute video.)  Last year’s recipient was H.E. Hanène Tajouri Bessassi, Tunisia’s Ambassador to the United States.  (Click here for a 5-minute video.)    

Highlights of Government-to-Government Partnerships

Through strategic diplomacy, effective government relations, and people-to-people engagement, Ambassador Boide has contributed to strengthening Mauritania’s economic and security partnerships, while showcasing her country as a reliable partner in Africa. For example, she:* She played a coordinating role in organizing the July 2025 meeting between Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani and U.S. President Donald Trump, a meeting that highlighted Mauritania’s resources and its central role in the region.

• Ensured and contributed to Mauritania’s participation in the Summit for Democracy (2023) – as the second Arab country invited – underscoring her country’s democratic progress.
• Played a pivotal role in 2024 in restoring Mauritania’s eligibility – after years of suspension – to benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), thereby opening new channels for trade, investment, and preferential access to U.S. markets.
• Advocated successfully and contributed for Mauritania’s selection in 2022 (and confirmation in 2023) for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Program, laying foundations for large-scale cooperation in climate resilience, energy, and infrastructure.
• Contributed to the integration of Mauritanian officers into prestigious U.S. military schools, strengthening Mauritania’s role as a reliable security partner in the Sahel.
• Contributed to improving Mauritania’s ranking in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report in 2023 moving from Tier 3 to Tier 2 for the first time in the country’s history. This recognition by the U.S. Government is strengthening reforms against human trafficking and hereditary slavery, paving the way for additional measures in coming years.
• Played a leadership role among African ambassadors, Arab ambassadors, and Francophone Ambassadors, with Mauritania chairing the African Union in 2024, which required coordination with development partners regarding Africa’s participation in the G20.

Public / Private Partnerships with America’s Heartland

Working closely with NUSACC, Ambassador Boide has made two trips to America’s Heartland in the past year.  Both trips provided insights about the American people – “beyond the beltway” – in the breadbasket of America. 

The first trip – to Iowa – revolved around the World Food Prize, the $500,000 annual award for food sustainability.  The second trip – to Nebraska and Iowa – was accompanying H.E. Mohamed Malainine Ould Eyih, Mauritania’s Minister of Professional Development.

During her visits to the Midwest, Ambassador Boide met with U.S. Governors, Secretaries of Agriculture, Secretaries of State, mayors, heads of commodity groups, farmers and ranchers, Presidents of universities and community colleges, and business leaders.

Her engagement with the private sector has generated growing interest in Mauritania by U.S. companies in such sectors as agriculture, energy, mining, transportation & logistics, and digital technologies.  Education is a top priority in Mauritania, and Ambassador Boide has made significant strides in creating partnerships in support of human capital development, vocational training, and youth employment.

Ambassador Boide put it this way: “I would like to thank the people of America’s Heartland for their warm hospitality during my recent visits.  I was very impressed by their agricultural expertise and capabilities, and I see many avenues for potential cooperation with my country, Mauritania.”

Mauritania’s MOU with NUSACC

An important highlight of the growing partnership between the National U.S. – Arab Chamber of Commerce and Mauritania is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with NUSACC in May 2025.  The first of its kind in the United States, this MOU acknowledges the important role that U.S. companies are positioned to play in Mauritania’s ambitious development plans, including capacity-building for youth.  The MOU creates a framework for:

• Guiding Mauritanian youth in the areas of training, employment, and entrepreneurship.
• Introducing Mauritania to U.S. businesses and facilitating trade and technological exchanges.
• Adopting innovative development programs.
• Developing vocational and technical training curricula tailored to market needs.
• Advising Mauritanian artisans in marketing their products in the United States.
• Leveraging the expertise of NUSACC in agriculture, education, trade, and industry using advanced technologies.

The agreement recognizes the importance of collaboration between public institutions and international partners for the socio-economic development of Mauritania. The MOU also acknowledges the central role of vocational and technical training, handicrafts, agriculture, energy, and entrepreneurship in creating opportunities for Mauritanian youth.

At the signing ceremony – held in the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines – the Government of Mauritania noted, “NUSACC has proven itself to be a key partner in strengthening cooperation between Mauritania and the States of Iowa and Nebraska and, more broadly, with the United States as a whole.”

Mauritania’s Greatest Resource

Mauritania is blessed with resources to which other nations can only aspire: Cultivable land, extensive fresh water, livestock production, fisheries, mining, tourism, and energy (with over 100 trillion cubic feet of confirmed natural gas, plus great potential in oil, wind, and solar power).

But as Ambassador Boide knows very well, Mauritania’s greatest resource is not in the ground.  As a former Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, she is the first to highlight Mauritania’s youth (under 25 years old), who make up more than 60 percent of that nation’s population.

“The future of any nation lies in the strength and creativity of its youth,” she noted.  “I am proud that Mauritania recognizes this, making its young people not only the future, but active drivers of the present.  By investing in their education, creativity, and leadership, we are building the foundations for peace, progress, and shared prosperity.”

Mauritania’s Cissé Boide 2025 “Ambassador of the Year”

سعادة السفيرة سيسه بيده من موريتانيا “سفيرة العام” 2025
​Son Excellence l’Ambassadrice Cissé Boide de Mauritanie « Ambassadrice de l’année 2025