Sports minister Nelly Mukazayire, on March 16, paid a visit to Mauritania, where, on behalf of President Paul Kagame, held discussions with the Mauritanian president regarding Louise Mushikiwabo’s candidacy for a new term as Secretary-General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

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During the visit she was received by the country’s president Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani.

"I have solemnly transmitted the message sent by His Excellency Paul Kagame to his counterpart, the Head of State of a friendly country,” Mukazayire noted.

"I also thank the hospitality I have received and the time we had to exchange and discuss with His Excellency the President (of Mauritania),” she went on.

On the same day, Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe met with President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, also to discuss Mushikiwabo’s bid for another term at OIF.

The OIF is an international organisation representing states and governments with a notable affiliation with French language and culture.

According to the organisation, it is estimated that there are over 321 million French speakers across the five continents of the world.

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First elected in 2018, Mushikiwabo, a former foreign minister of Rwanda, was re-elected for a four-year term in November 2022. Rwanda confirmed her candidacy for a third term in January.

If re-elected, she would become the second OIF Secretary-General to serve three terms, after Abdou Diouf.

The next election is scheduled to take place in November during the Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.