Foreign relations of Mauritania 5464482 218202657 2008-06-09T16:48:24Z Fratrep 4541225 Repairing link to disambiguation page - [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages with links|You can help!]] {{Politics of Mauritania}} '''The Foreign relations of The Islamic Republic of [[Mauritania]]''' have been dominated since independence by the issues of the [[Spanish Sahara]] (now [[Western Sahara]] or [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] as well as recognition of its independence by its neighbours, particularly [[Morocco]]. The current foreign minister is [[Mohamed Saleck Ould Mohamed Lemine]]. ==History== Mauritania became independent with the help of [[France]] in 1960. However, it did not join the [[United Nations]] until 1961 due to an initial veto by the [[Soviet Union]]. The [[Arab League]] disapproved of Mauritanian independence due to [[Morocco]]'s ambitions for Mauritania. Eventually, Mauritania was admitted to the United Nations in 1961 in response by the Soviet Union to a favorable vote for [[Mongolia]]'s admission in the same year. Mauritania did initially support France in Northwest Africa to counterbalance Morocco's ambition. By 1962, however, Mauritania turned away from wholesale support of France and began normalizing relations with its neighbors, eventually establishing diplomatic relations with [[Mali]] in 1963 through the [[Treaty of Kayes]], [[Algeria]] and the [[United Arab Republic]] ([[Egypt]] and [[Syria]]) in 1964. In 1963, Mauritania joined the [[Organization of African Unity]] (OAU), which then caused Morocco to resign (Morocco did not recognize Mauritania until 1969). At this point, Mauritania, encouraged by the OAU and the Arab League, did not seek diplomatic relations with [[Apartheid]] [[South Africa]], [[Israel]] or [[Portugal]]. Today, however, Mauritania has normalized relations with all 3, with the downfall of the Apartheid system in South Africa as well as the retreat from colonialism in Portugal. ==Claims to Western Sahara territory== In 1976, when [[Spain]] withdrew from the [[Western Sahara]], Mauritania annexed a third of it. Upon this, both [[Algeria]] and [[Morocco]] withdrew their ambassadors from Mauritania. The rebel [[Polisario]] group began raids on Mauritania in 1976 and lasted until 1979 when Mauritania withdrew its claims from the [[Western Sahara]] and recognized the [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] (SADR) as the sovereign government of the Western Sahara territory, though Morocco took control of the SADR because of Mauritania's withdrawal[http://www.wsahara.net/history.html]. Since this time, Mauritania has declared [[Neutral country|neutrality]] in the dispute, seeking a peaceful and expedient end to the conflict; diplomatic relations with Algeria and Morocco have resumed[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5431.htm]. ==Recognition of Israel== Mauritania is one of 3 members of the Arab League that recognize Israel as a sovereign state, the others being [[Egypt]] and [[Jordan]]. This recognition was given by former president, [[Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya]] along with his cooperation with [[United States]] anti-[[terrorism]] activities. After the coup by the [[Military Council for Justice and Democracy]] in August 2005, recognition of Israel was maintained. ==Suspension of African Union Membership== Following a military [[2005 Mauritanian coup d'état|coup d'état]] in 1995, Mauritania's membership in the [[African Union]] was suspended "until the restoration of constitutional order in the country" [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04702265.htm]. This left Mauritania diplomatically isolated within Africa, as it left Mauritania the only country on the African continent except Morocco without full membership in the African Union [http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/memberstates/map.htm]. In March 2007 democratic rule was restored in Mauritania, with [[Mauritanian presidential election, 2007|presidential elections]] declared "free and fair" by international observers [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6440597.stm]. It is therefore likely that Mauritania's membership in the African union will be reinstated in the near future. ==Relations with China== The government of Mauritania enjoys close ties with the government of the [[People's Republic of China]]. Diplomatic relations were opened in 1965 [http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/focac/183435.htm], and the governments remain on good terms. In recent years, they have signed a series of agreements and exchanged a series of diplomatic gestures that have strengthened their relationship. ===Cooperation on petroleum extraction=== The Chinese government has recently shown particular interest in Mauritania's [[oil]] deposits. Oil production in Mauritania began in February 2006, and by May of the same year the Chinese and Mauritanian governments signed an agreement on social and economic cooperation [http://www.businessinafrica.net/news/west_africa/704122.htm]. In October 2006, the state-owned [[China National Petroleum Corporation]] began drilling oil wells in Mauritania, and has three other prospecting permits in Mauritania [http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/chinainstitute/nav03.cfm?nav03=51664&nav02=43782&nav01=43092]. The Mauritanian government sees oil production as a significant means of boosting economic growth. ===2007 Presidential election=== During the campaign for Mauritania's [[Mauritanian presidential election, 2007|presidential elections]] in March 2007, candidate [[Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi]] praised Mauritania's growing ties with China, promising to "continue the path of strengthening the bilateral relations with all my efforts" [http://english.people.com.cn/200703/12/eng20070312_356522.html]. As Abdallahi won the election and is now the President-elect of Mauritania [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=nw20070326225550296C454448], it is expected that Mauritania's relationship with China will continue to grow. ==Relations with Pakistan== ==See also== * [[Diplomatic missions of Mauritania]] * [[List of diplomatic missions in Mauritania]] {{Africa in topic|Foreign relations of}} [[Category:Foreign relations of Mauritania| ]]