Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani held talks on Thursday with the Saudi Minister of State for African Countries, Ahmed Kattan, who is on a visit to Nouakchott.
The visit is part of his African tour that covered Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania.
Kattan described the discussions as ‘significant’ and extended gratitude and appreciation to Mauritania for its stances towards various matters of interest to the Kingdom.
Talks touched on the development projects funded by the Kingdom in Mauritania through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). Following the meeting, Kattan revealed that Ghazouani expressed gratitude for the positive role played by the SFDA in this context.
Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest investors and financiers of ventures in Mauritania, namely in sectors of minerals and agriculture.
Further, the Mauritanian government relies on the Kingdom to support the new plan brought by the President to stimulate the economy.
Concluding the talks, the Mauritanian President said he appreciated the key role played by Saudi Arabia towards Mauritania.
For his part, Kattan described bilateral ties as historic and unique as he affirmed endeavors to boost ties.
Furthermore, the talks tackled the Saudi role in supporting the Sahel countries undergoing a bloody war against terrorist groups affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaeda. This support is represented in funding and equipping the military forces.
Earlier in his tour, the Saudi Minister visited Mali and Burkina Faso which are the two countries most implicated by terrorist attacks in the Sahel. He held talks with the presidents there and addressed the fight against terrorism, and the regional condition.
The Sahel has been witnessing a mounting terrorism threat for seven years after the surge of al-Qaeda and ISIS there.
There are approximately 6,000 French military personnel deployed to the Sahel to support local armies in the war against terrorism.
