The President of the Republic Holds a Joint Press Conference with the President of the Spanish Government and the President of the European Commission

During a joint press conference with the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the European Commission, His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, stressed that this joint visit is of great importance and evidence of the interest that Spain and the European Union attach to the strategic partnership that binds them to Mauritania.

His Excellency the President of the Republic said that the ties of friendship and the diverse and constructive relationship based on the sharing of common values reflect the importance and solidity of this partnership.

He thanked the President of the Spanish Government and the President of the European Commission for the support provided to Mauritania at the socio-economic level and sustainable development, expressing his conviction that this joint visit will open a new phase for this fruitful cooperation, both on the bilateral side with the Kingdom of Spain and on the multilateral side with the European Union.

His Excellency the President of the Republic considered that this visit opened an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest and to study the best ways and means to strengthen the strategic partnership by exploring the opportunities offered by the global portal to Mauritania, the opportunities it offers to the countries of the European Union and the important potential of Mauritania in terms of natural resources and investment opportunities, adding that these investment issues were raised during the meeting with businessmen, especially in the context of the energy transition and the important role that Mauritania intends to play in exploiting its enormous potential in Renewable energies and its ambitious program to develop green hydrogen.

His Excellency the President of the Republic said that the sessions discussed the challenges related to the issues of irregular migration and stability in the subregion, stressing Mauritania’s commitment to play its role fully with regard to combating illegal migration, considering that Mauritania is paying a heavy price to assume responsibility for migration flows resulting from the sensitive security situation in the subregion, and to confront irregular migration, to which he is firmly committed, in partnership with the Kingdom of Spain and the European Union.

Mauritania is often considered a transit country, but it has become a destination country, the President of the Republic said, adding that today it hosts hundreds of thousands of migrants of different nationalities, in addition to tens of thousands of refugees in camps that provide them with security and stability, considering that there are huge efforts in border control, mobilization of security forces and strengthening of basic services.

With regard to security and stability at the international level and in the subregion, His Excellency the President of the Republic said that our country reaffirms its principled position regarding what is happening in Gaza, the urgent need for an immediate and necessary ceasefire, and the need for international mobilization in favor of the two-state solution.

The President of the Republic added that he discussed with the two guests the critical situation of insecurity and instability prevailing in the Sahel region, and it was agreed to continue mobilizing all partners in order to combat terrorism and support development in this area, expressing the conviction of the Sahel countries that they will only be able to guarantee their stability, security and sustainable development, with or without the G-5.

The President of the Republic said that due to the ties of history and geography, everyone is obliged to unite in the fight against terrorism and in achieving sustainable and comprehensive economic development, counting on the support of the Kingdom of Spain and the European Union in this battle, considering that this visit will contribute to strengthening cooperation and strategic partnership between Mauritania, the Kingdom of Spain and the European Union, for the benefit of all parties and in the interest of sustainable development, stability and peace in the world, the subregion and the continent.

For his part, the Spanish Prime Minister expressed his thanks to His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, for the hospitality and welcome that was given to her during this important visit for the Spanish delegation.

He added that he and President von der Leyen are now in Nouakchott with the aim of strengthening cooperation with Mauritania, a country of great importance to Spain and the European Union in general.

Mauritania plays a pivotal role as a democratic reference for stability in the Sahel, a region of great importance for Spain and Europe, as the exacerbation of political instability, conflicts and insecurity in this neighbourhood directly affects Mauritania and all of us, he said, stressing the urgent need to work together according to a holistic strategy to successfully address the challenges at hand.

He added that Spain and Mauritania have been linked by a strong partnership on many levels for a long time, sharing many common goals, such as fighting terrorism and working to ensure regular and safe migration, and working together to address the effects of climate change, especially drought and desertification, especially through the International Coalition for Resilience to Drought.

He said he was very satisfied with the vision of the EU developing a framework to allow for a strategic commitment to the Union in the coming years, represented by the Europe Group initiative on green hydrogen and related infrastructure projects capable of transforming green energy and the economic outlook of the country.

The European Union played a key role in humanitarian assistance and development cooperation, and the forthcoming joint declaration on the launch of a partnership and dialogue on migration was a pivotal step.

He stressed that the welfare of Mauritania is the best investment in stability and security, and that Spain therefore places new specific commitments within the framework of cooperation with Mauritania on several levels, including strengthening development cooperation instruments, and therefore we will sign today a new framework agreement in line with the Mauritanian strategy of accelerated growth and common well-being.

He pointed out that the new bilateral framework agreement provides for the provision of 60 million euros in development projects in Mauritania over the next four years, and moreover, we will expand financial cooperation to reach more than 50 million euros, and we are working with the World Bank to identify specific projects to be financed in the field of renewable energies and infrastructure, and we hope to achieve rapid progress in this direction.

Thanks to the progress made by Mauritania over the past years, reflected in the positive development of credit qualification by the IMF and the World Bank in 2023, Spain will be able to use a package of financial instruments for projects in Mauritania, especially over the next five years, providing up to €200 million for feasibility studies, project financing and loan insurance, with a particular focus on investments in green projects and renewable energies.

He also announced the strengthening of Spanish-Mauritanian cooperation to address the migration pressure of our two countries, and we will strengthen our existing cooperation in this area through border controls, and we will explore other possible ways to ensure regular migration. In this regard, our two Governments are discussing migration-related projects that are successfully implemented with other States.

For her part, the President of the European Union Commission stressed the importance of the partnership with Mauritania, which “has grown over the past few years in a difficult context, where the nature of the current instability in the Sahel region, and the terrible consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the world, especially Africa.”

“It is natural that we want to strengthen our partnership and we do so today through our investment strategy for the world in the energy transition.

Mauritania has a huge potential for green hydrogen, the European Commission President said, noting that a discussion in this regard took place in Brussels during the forum, and a major project was launched with Spain, France and Germany to develop this entire strategic sector by financing the necessary infrastructure and skills.

She added that this would create jobs and attract investment to Mauritania, as the goal of the Global Gateway is to develop partners to build a green hydrogen sector through equipment and technology.

The European official praised our country’s reception of some 150,000 Malian refugees who fled violence in their country, praising Mauritania’s commitment to saving the lives of migrants who take the Atlantic route as the most dangerous route in the world.

The EU and Mauritania needed to strengthen their efforts in that area, as well as in border management and refugee assistance, and it was very important to give more opportunities to the youth .