Mauritania is an essential actor in the Royal Initiative aimed at promoting access of Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean, said Monday in Rabat, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans residing there. foreigner, Nasser Bourita.
“His Masjesty the King Mohammed VI considers that Mauritania has its place and its importance within the framework of the Royal Initiative aimed at promoting access of the Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean”, indicated Mr. Bourita during a conference joint press conference with his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Salem Ould Marzouk. After highlighting the special nature of the visit made by the Mauritanian Minister of Foreign Affairs to Morocco on the instructions of His Excellency the Mauritanian President, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani, Mr. Bourita underlined the importance of the relations linking the two countries, describing them as “particular and historic, dictated by geography, blood ties and neighborhood”.
From this angle, the minister highlighted the particular importance that HM the King attaches to Moroccan-Mauritanian relations as well as the interest shown by the Sovereign in their development on all levels, adding that the consolidation of bilateral relations has always been at the center of the High Royal Directions in view of the exceptional links uniting the two countries. Mr. Bourita mentioned in this context the last telephone conversation between HM the King and His Excellency the Mauritanian President, during which the importance and particularity of bilateral relations were reaffirmed, as well as the high esteem that the Sovereign has for the President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani and for his role both in favor of the stability and development of Mauritania and at the regional level, establishing his country as a pole of stability in the Sahel and West Africa.
The minister noted in this regard that the mechanisms of bilateral relations are functioning in a positive manner as evidenced by the holding in March 2022 of the Moroccan-Mauritanian High Joint Commission whose work was sanctioned by the signing of several conventions and crowned with important results, highlighting the ambition of His Majesty the King to see Moroccan-Mauritanian relations take on their full scope given the importance of historical, human and neighborhood ties. He further indicated that the talks with his Mauritanian counterpart, which focused on the situation and regional issues, were an opportunity to reaffirm and welcome the positive dynamic of Mauritanian diplomacy, thanks to the role of His Excellency the Mauritanian President, to his credibility and the confidence he inspires in all partners, emphasizing that Mauritania is now an important actor for regional stability.
On the other hand, he noted that Mauritanian students present in Morocco occupy first place in terms of number and scholarships awarded, a fact which confirms the sustainability of human ties between the two peoples. On the economic level, Mr. Bourita underlined the great development of bilateral relations, Morocco being Mauritania’s first commercial partner at the continental level, and the first African investor in Mauritania, underlining the ambition of HM the King and His Excellency the Mauritanian President to raise them to strategic levels, so as to make them an example to follow in terms of neighborly relations between two countries endowed with all the assets allowing them to design an inspiring model of cooperation.