Egypt and Mauritania signed 13 cooperation agreements spanning investment, education, labor, and infrastructure as their joint committee reconvened for the first time in nearly two decades, Egypt's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atty led the Egyptian delegation in Nouakchott for the second session of the Egypt-Mauritania Joint Committee, last held in Cairo in 2006. His Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzouk headed the Mauritanian side. The agreements signed cover a broad range of sectors including higher education, fisheries, water resources, civil protection, culture, and youth affairs. The two sides also extended a memorandum of understanding for the Nouakchott tramway project and agreed on the handover of a digital copy of the historic Ould Etlamid Library. "This round marks a new chapter in Egypt-Mauritania relations," Minister Abdel-Atty said, adding that both countries agreed to hold the committee sessions annually on a rotational basis. The talks also addressed expanding economic ties, with both governments backing plans to hold regular business forums to boost trade and investment in agriculture, mining, logistics, energy, and fisheries. The committee sessions touched on regional developments, including the Israeli aggression in Gaza, as well as the situations in Libya, Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel region. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to counterterrorism and regional stability. The resumption of the joint committee, after a 19-year pause, signalls renewed momentum in bilateral cooperation and shared efforts to deepen ties across multiple fronts. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
