Rabat – Morocco and Mauritania are mobilizing to strengthen bilateral cooperation with a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The move comes less than a month after Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita met with his Mauritanian counterpart, Smael Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in Rabat on Friday, December 20.
The December meeting signaled warming relations between the two countries, and the new MoU confirms a mutual interest in further improving diplomatic ties.
Morocco and Mauritania signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, January 13, in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott.
Khalid Safir, Wali and director general of local authorities at Morocco’s Ministry of Interior, signed the agreement with Abdi Ould Horma, director general of territorial authorities at the Mauritanian Ministry of Interior and Decentralization.
Safir attended a two-day governance symposium in Nouakchott, along with several officials from the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior and regional officials from Morocco and Mauritania.
Mauritanian Minister of the Interior and Decentralization Mohamed Salem Ould Marzouk presided over the signing.
The new agreement commits Morocco and Mauritania to bilateral cooperation regarding the territorial, regional, and local administration of the two countries.
Regular conferences and workshops will serve to generate success in regards to local management, decentralization, capacity building, and improving institutions by allowing Morocco and Mauritania to discuss issues of common interest and exchange information and experiences.
With the MoU, the two countries also commit to promoting trade, industry, tourism, and investment in the region. The economic ties between Morocco and Mauritania are already solid but will benefit from expansion.
Morocco and Mauritania have agreed to set up a committee to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
Although Morocco and Mauritania have taken opposing sides on the Western Sahara issue in the past, Mauritania’s official “neutrality” on the matter has allowed for cordial relations with Morocco.
Mauritania is a key player in the ongoing UN-led negotiations on Western Sahara, and Morocco is keen on gaining Mauritanian support for its Autonomy Plan.
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