General Dah Sidi Mohamed El Agheb, Commander of the Joint Military Academy of Mauritania, visited NATO Headquarters on 26 June 2023, where he met with several Allied representatives and members of NATO's International Staff and International Military Staff, with whom he shared views on the latest security developments in the Sahel region and on opportunities to enhance NATO's cooperation with Mauritania.
"The Sahel region is a theatre of complex and interconnected challenges," said Thomas Goffus, NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Operations. "The deteriorating situation in the Sahel region matters to NATO's collective security. Mauritania is an essential NATO partner and a key player in the Sahel region. Our relationship is built on years of trust," he said.
Mauritania is a long-standing NATO partner, having joined the Alliance's Mediterranean Dialogue partnership forum in 1995. Since then, NATO-Mauritania partnership has grown significantly. In 2013, Mauritania joined NATO's Defence Education Enhancement Programme, which provides tailored practical support to individual countries in developing and reforming their professional military education institutions. At the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, Allied Heads of State and Government approved a Defence Security Capacity Building Package for Mauritania. This initiative aims to support the country's efforts to make its defence and security capacity more resilient to respond to different regional security challenges. It also provides a framework to upgrade training standards for Mauritanian forces' contributions to UN peacekeeping operations.
Earlier in June, General Dah Sidi Mohamed El Agheb, together with representatives from NATO's Operations Division, visited the Royal Military Academy of Belgium, where he met with the Academy's Commander, Admiral Yves Dupont, and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation amongst foreign military academies.
The Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) is a partnership forum that aims to contribute to security and stability in the wider Mediterranean region, and promote good relations and understanding among participating countries and NATO Allies. Currently, the following non-NATO countries take part in the Dialogue: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
