His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, presided this morning, Friday, at the Presidential Palace in Nouakchott, over the national flag-raising ceremony, commemorating the 65th anniversary of national independence.

The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister, Mr. Mokhtar Ould Djay; the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Mohamed Bamba Meguett; the President of the Constitutional Council, Mr. Diallo Mamadou Batia; the President of the Democratic Opposition Foundation, Mr. Hamadi Sid El Mokhtar; the Minister of Defense, Retirees, and Martyrs’ Children, Mr. Hanana Ould Sidi; the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Mohamed Vall Rais; the Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic, Lieutenant General Mohamed El Mokhtar Cheikh Amni; the Governor of Nouakchott West, Mr. Mrabih Rabou Ould Bounane Ould Abidine; and the President of the Nouakchott Region, Ms. Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malek.

His Excellency the President of the Republic, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Retirees and Martyrs’ Children, and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, reviewed units from the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, and National Police, who presented him with a salute of honor, to the strains of military music.

His Excellency the President then shook hands with the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces and Security Forces, former Head of State Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, senior officers, former Prime Ministers, the Secretary-General of the Presidency, the Minister in charge of the President’s Office, the two Ministers-Advisors to the Presidency, members of the government, heads of constitutional bodies, high-ranking state officials, heads and representatives of national political and trade union organizations, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of international organizations accredited to Mauritania, and military attachés from embassies in Nouakchott.

Following this, the flag of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania was raised high in the sky above Nouakchott by two members of the National Gendarmerie’s honor guard, to the strains of the national anthem.