Mauritania Values Promoting Historic Relations with Morocco, Says National Assembly Speaker

Speaker of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Bemba Meguet stated here on Monday that his country gives great importance to promoting historic and brotherly relations with Morocco in various fields. During talks with Morocco’s Upper House Speaker Mohamed Ould Errachid, Meguet stressed that “Mauritania, State and people, attaches paramount importance” to strengthening economic, cultural and political ties between the two countries. According to a press release from the House of Councillors, the Speaker of Mauritanian National Assembly, currently on an official visit to the Kingdom at the head of a large parliamentary delegation, also praised the evolving cooperation between the two legislative institutions.  In this respect, he stressed the importance of bolstering parliamentary support for government efforts in order to promote bilateral relations, as well as the need to activate and materialize the Morocco-Mauritania Parliamentary Forum in order to meet aspirations of the two brotherly peoples. For his part, Ould Errachid highlighted the strength and solidity of bilateral relations, rooted in history and founded on fraternal, religious, linguistic, historical and neighborly ties, welcoming these relations’ momentum in recent years, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. Ould Errachid also praised the advanced legal framework governing bilateral relations, boosted by holding the High Joint Commission in 2022, further stressing the importance of maintaining efforts to diversify investments and establish multidimensional partnerships, particularly in sectors of renewable energies, fishing, infrastructure and training. Referring to the vital importance of cultural cooperation and human exchange in bilateral relations, the Upper House Speaker reiterated the need to promote parliamentary cooperation, to hold dialogue between parliamentarians from both countries, and coordinate positions on all issues of common interest.  Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of implementing the memorandum of understanding inked between the two legislative institutions, with a view to stepping up the exchange of expertise and experience in the fields of legislation, oversight, public policy evaluation, and parliamentary management and communication. Ould Errachid also spoke of the challenges facing the African continent, particularly the Sahel-Saharan region, beset by terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking, and called for greater coordination between the countries concerned. In praising the joint efforts made by the two brotherly countries to develop Africa and preserve its security and stability, he mentioned the Royal Atlantic Initiative to promote access of Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean. Similarly, the Speaker of the House of Councillors confirmed Mauritania’s pivotal role in this initiative, as well as in other regional integration projects aiming to stabilize the entire region, such as the Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline.