Mauritanian military cooperation with NATO and Egyptian diplomatic discussions to reduce regional tensions

Mauritanian Minister of Defense, retired Lieutenant General Hanna Ould Sidi, held a meeting with a military delegation from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) visiting Nouakchott, headed by Major General Massimo Spadavecchia, Deputy Director of the Cooperation and Security Division of the NATO International Military Staff.

According to what the Mauritanian Ministry of Defense announced, in a statement published by the Mauritanian army on its website, on Wednesday, the meeting discussed the existing cooperation relations between the two sides and ways to strengthen and develop them, especially in the field of defense.

The NATO delegation also held a meeting later with the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defense, Colonel Ishaq Abdullah Mahmoud Ibrahim, to discuss enhancing cooperation between the two parties, in the presence of other Mauritanian military leaders.

The Ministry of Defense did not reveal technical details or specific new agreements as a result of the two meetings held on Tuesday, only referring to the discussion of “existing cooperation relations” and “ways to strengthen and develop them,” which reflects the periodic nature of such visits that focus on following up on existing cooperation programs between the two parties.

The relationship between Nouakchott and NATO dates back to 1995, when Mauritania joined the “Mediterranean Dialogue” launched by the alliance with the aim of enhancing security and stability in the Mediterranean region.

In recent years, the alliance announced that Mauritania is a “strategic partner” in the Sahel region and West Africa, coinciding with the decline in security cooperation between it and other Sahel countries, after Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger turned their backs on traditional Western partners and turned towards Moscow.

This transformation has made Mauritania, which has been relatively successful in containing terrorist threats since 2011, the main, or almost the only, partner of NATO in the Sahel region.

At the Madrid Summit in 2022, NATO leaders approved a package to build Mauritania’s defense and security capabilities, at its request, divided into several axes: developing special operations forces, maritime security, intelligence, a program to convert retired military personnel to civilian professions, managing stocks of small and light weapons, and military education.

This package was translated into concrete measures, which included the delivery of equipment to special operations forces in late 2024, joint naval exercises, and support for defense education programs, as well as a pilot program to transform about 120 retired military personnel into agricultural and craft professions during 2025 and 2026, according to data published by the alliance.

Egyptian-Gulf talks continued in order to reduce tensions in the region, and Cairo stressed “the importance of concerted efforts and unified action to prevent the widening of the circle of conflict.” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati made a phone call with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to discuss strategic relations and developments in regional situations, including developments in Yemen, Iran, and the Red Sea region.