Mauritania and Saudi Arabia are working to launch a strategic iron mining partnership as part of efforts to expand economic cooperation and boost mutual investments, Mauritania’s ambassador to Riyadh said.
Ambassador Moktar Ould Dahi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the project involves creating “Takamul,” a joint venture between Mauritania’s state-owned mining firm and Saudi Arabia’s Hadeed.
The company, now in the funding stage, would develop an iron ore mine in Mauritania with an annual output target of 12-14 million tons.
The initiative follows a June meeting in Makkah between Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani.
Ould Dahi said trade between the two nations is set to gain momentum, with plans to improve direct transport links to overcome logistical challenges caused by distance and the lack of a direct shipping route.
Saudi investment in Mauritania has risen in recent years, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises in agriculture and manufacturing. A joint Saudi-Mauritanian business council has been formed to spur private sector partnerships, he added.
Saudi Arabia and Islamic development institutions are major financiers of Mauritanian projects, the envoy said. The Saudi Fund for Development currently has $340 million in active financing, including the King Salman Hospital in Nouakchott and a water supply project for Kiffa.
The Islamic Development Bank has $315 million allocated for projects such as the Atar-Chinguetti road and a specialist maternity and children’s hospital.
Mauritania offers “attractive reserves” in multiple sectors, Ould Dahi said, listing high-grade deposits of iron ore, gold, copper, uranium, phosphates and cobalt; significant confirmed gas reserves with more expected; rich fisheries; strong green hydrogen potential; and hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile, undeveloped farmland along the Senegal River.
He expects these opportunities to translate into new Saudi-Mauritanian ventures soon, noting growing interest from Saudi public and private investors.
“Mauritania-Saudi relations are at their best,” Ould Dahi said, citing regular high-level consultations, a formal joint cooperation committee and strong Saudi backing for Mauritania in Arab, Islamic and international development forums.
He credited Saudi Arabia for decades of support since Mauritania’s independence, funding key infrastructure from roads, water systems and dams to power, schools and hospitals.
