Mauritanian foreign policy is shaped by the fact that the country is in the middle of the Arab and Berber worlds and the African space. Since May 1963, the government has been a founding member of both the Organization of African Unity and the African Union. In November 1973, it joined the Arab League, and in February 1989, it helped form the Arab Maghreb Union. The government of Mauritania emphasizes that it is an Arab-Muslim country. Since the organization of the Islamic community was founded in September 1969, Mauritania has also been a member. When Mauritania left the Economic Community of West African States in December 1999, it kept taking part in groups that brought it closer to its sub-Saharan neighbors. For example, the Community of the Sahelo-Saharan States, the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River, and the Standing Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel.
Diplomatic relations with other states
Western Sahara and the country’s relationship with Israel have always been important parts of the country’s foreign policy. Since it got out of Saharawi territory, Mauritania has re-balanced its relationships with Morocco and Algeria and wants to be a positive neutral country. After the Israeli-Palestinian war in December 2008 and January 2009, diplomatic ties with Israel were frozen and ended in March 2010. Recently, Mauritania has been helping to make sure that the Sahelian countries work together for security and growth. Since January 2014, it has been in charge of the African Union here. With Mali, Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso, it started the G5 Sahel in February 2014, along with Burkina Faso. It is also part of the Nouakchott process, which is made up of eleven countries and is run by the African Union. She joined the Barcelona Process in November 1995 and became a full member in November 2007. She is still a part of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries affected by the Cotonou Agreement of June 2000.
The Cotonou Agreement
The Cotonou Agreement from June 2000 is the basis for the relationship between the EU and Mauritania. In September 2011, the EU also made a plan for the security and development of Mauritania, Mali, and Niger in the Sahel region. When it was changed in November 2013, it was made more prominent in Chad and Burkina Faso. In this situation, the Eleventh European Development Fund will give Mauritania €195 million from 2014 to 2020. This will make the EU the first international donor in Mauritania. Due to the third poverty reduction strategy framework adopted by the Mauritanian government for the years 2011 to 2015, three areas have been chosen to focus on food security and sustainable agriculture, the rule of law, and health.
Diplomatic relations with the European Union
Mauritania is also an important partner of the European Union. In July 2012, the European Commission started a protocol to the Fisheries and Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Mauritania. This allowed the European fleet to fish in Mauritanian waters in exchange for helping the fishing industry and protecting the marine environment. This deal was extended for another 4 years on November 16, 2015. Mauritania is eligible for the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Stability and Combating the Root Causes of Irregular Migration and the Displaced Persons in Africa, which was set up at the November 2015 Valletta Summit. The European Union has given this fund 1.8 billion euros, of which 1 billion euros goes to the Sahel and Lake Chad. On February 2, 2020, a month before Mauritania reported its first case of Covid-19, the UAE promised Nouakchott $2 billion in aid. It would be hard to overstate how much power Abu Dhabi gained by giving money to Mauritania, a country with a GDP of $5.2 billion.
