Robles describes Mauritania as an "essential player" in working for peace in the Sahel

The Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, during the meeting with her mauritanian counterpart, Hanana Ould Sidi

The Minister for Defence described Mauritania as "an essential actor" in advancing peace and the defence of democratic values in the Sahel, "where the situation is worrying. Spain and Mauritania, however, have excellent bilateral relations and solid military cooperation".

"Spain and Mauritania reiterate our commitment to a fairer international order and the protection of human rights, as well as to strengthening relations between the two countries to improve military capabilities and specific training", said Robles after the meeting with the Mauritanian Minister for Defence, Hanana Ould Sidi, who stated that peace can only be a joint objective based on two axes: having capabilities and training and solidarity between countries.

In this regard, Minister Robles highlighted the collaboration with CESEDEN and the G-5 Sahel Defence College in Nouakchott, and the cooperative security activities focused on training units and guaranteeing security in military installations, without forgetting the deployment of Spanish Armed Forces in the Gulf of Guinea since 2010 in surveillance and stability tasks.

The Minister for Defence also held a meeting with the country's president, Mohamed Cheikh El Ghazouani, who highlighted the value of the joint work with Spain in the Sahel region, which contributes to stability through defence dialogue.

Margarita Robles thanked Mauritania for its welcome and for the good understanding in working on aspects related to security and defence in such turbulent times as those we are currently experiencing.

Non official translation