Morocco, Mauritania reiterate keenness 'to promote common strategic projects'

​​​​​​​By Anadolu staff

RABAT, Morocco (AA) - Morocco and Mauritania expressed a willingness Friday to develop common strategic projects that strengthen ties.

It came during a meeting between King Mohammed VI and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani at the Royal Palace in Casablanca, according to a statement from the Moroccan Royal Court.

Ghazouani arrived in Morocco on Wednesday for an official visit.

Both leaders praised "the positive momentum" in the partnership in all fields, said the statement.

It added that both affirmed coordination regarding contributions within the framework of the Royal Initiatives in Africa, especially the Afro-Atlantic gas pipeline, also known as Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, and an initiative to promote access of Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean.

Morocco, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger agreed Dec. 23, 2023, to boost cooperation at a ministerial coordination meeting in the southern Moroccan city of Marrakech.

The meeting discussed an initiative proposed by Mohammed VI in November, who suggested launching “an international initiative to enable the Sahel countries to have access to the Atlantic Ocean."

During the king's visit to Nigeria in December 2016, a gas pipeline project was signed that crossed from Nigeria to Morocco through 13 African countries.

The pipeline project extends more than 5,600 kilometers (3,480 miles) and runs through Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar