We had an interesting, rich conversation with the President Mauretania M.Ould Cheikh El Gazouani with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Affairs of Mauritanians Abroad M.S. Ould Merzoug, as well as Presidential aides.
We discussed the state of bilateral relations. We agreed to honorably celebrate the upcoming anniversary – the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. This period was full of intensive cooperation in various fields: trade and economic, humanitarian, educational and foreign policy.
We have a common understanding of the need to increase economic ties and direct contacts between our business structures. In this context, Mauritanian economic operators are interested in participating in the business forum Russia-Africa, preceding the second Russian-African summit at the end of July in St. Petersburg.
Bilateral cooperation traditionally includes marine fishing. We have a valid An agreement on cooperation in the field of marine fisheries and fisheries, according to which Russian seiners operate in the exclusive economic zone of Mauritania. We thank our friends for their consistently positive attitude to this work and for their promise to continue to create favorable conditions for Russian fishermen.
We want to diversify our ties and extend them to other areas, primarily in the field of mining and healthcare. Since Soviet times, we have had a good tradition of training personnel for medical institutions in Mauritania, including visits by Russian doctors to assist colleagues on the spot.
Fifteen hundred Mauritanian citizens have been educated in our country. Many of them work in responsible positions in the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the economic sphere. We are pleased that their experience and knowledge are highly appreciated in Mauritania.
We have a common opinion on international affairs on the need to step up efforts in support of international law and the principles laid down in The UN Charter. There is a good field for further coordination of actions here.
We talked about the problems of the African continent. Like our Mauritanian colleagues, we are concerned about the growing tension in the Sahara-Sahel region, where it is necessary to unite efforts to more effectively combat terrorist manifestations that have not disappeared anywhere and are even growing. We discussed the Western Sahara settlement. Russia was a member of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara. She was engaged in the preparation of concrete steps to implement the existing solutions The UN Security Council. But now there is a pause in this issue as well. We consider it necessary to return to the active search for concrete steps to break the deadlock in this situation and to promote a settlement based on the existing decisions of the UN Security Council.
They could not ignore the general geopolitical situation, the crisis that the West purposefully creates in connection with the failure of its attempts to use Ukraine for (as he puts it) “inflicting a strategic defeat on the Russian Federation.”
We have described in detail the genesis of the whole story. Russia’s actions aimed at preventing the undermining of the system of international relations based on The UN Charter. They shared information about what steps Russia is taking to prevent the collapse of global energy and food security. Such a risk is evident in connection with the absolutely illegitimate, illegal unilateral actions of the United States and its wards.
We discussed preparations for the second summit Russia-Africa, which will take place on July 27-29 in St. Petersburg. Mr. President took part in the first such event in the fall of 2019 in Sochi and confirmed that he intends to take advantage of the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and come to the summit meeting at the end of July in St. Petersburg.
We are grateful to our Moorish friends for their excellent hospitality. I invited my colleague to pay a return visit to the Russian Federation at any time convenient for him.
Source: Russian Foreign Ministry
