Japan-Mauritania Relations

On August 29, for about 15 minutes, from 9:45 pm, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a summit meeting with H.E. Mr. Ismail Ould Bedda Ould Cheikh Sidiya, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, in Yokohama, Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Prime Minister Sidiya is visiting Japan to participate in the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) held from August 28 to 30.

1. At the outset, Prime Minister Abe expressed congratulations on the inauguration of Prime Minister Sidiya and President Ghazouani, and stated that Mauritania is famous for octopus fishery and Japan contributed to this through technical assistance. Also, he said that he would like to praise Prime Minister Sidiya’s continued efforts to realize peace and stability, in spite of difficulties in the Sahel region.
   In response, Prime Minister Sidiya expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Abe’s warm welcome and his intention to further strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two countries.
2. Following that, Prime Minister Abe mentioned his intention to support efforts on countermeasures against terrorism and illegal immigrants as well as improving food security in Mauritania, with the aim of assisting the G5 Sahel’s efforts. Moreover, he expressed Japan’s intention to contribute to the promotion of the fisheries industry in Mauritania, in which the two countries maintain close relations, through “The Project for the Construction of the Inspection and Analysis Laboratories of the National Office of Sanitary Inspection of Fishery and Aquaculture Products in Nouadhibou,” a grant aid recently signed. He also requested further improvements in the business environment for increasing investments in Mauritania.
   In response, Prime Minister Sidiya expressed his appreciation to Japan’s assistance to the G5 Sahel and his expectation for cooperation in the areas of humanitarian assistance including food security, promotion of business and investment, poverty alleviation and others.
3. The two leaders also exchanged views regarding cooperation in the international arena, including UN Security Council reform, and the North Korea situation.