Tebboune arrives in Mauritania in 1st visit by an Algerian president in 37 years

By Mhamed Bakaye

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AA) - Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune began a visit to Mauritania on Monday, during which he will participate in an international conference.

It marks the first visit by an Algerian head of state to Mauritania in nearly 37 years. The last such visit was in 1987 by President Chadli Bendjedid to the Mauritanian city of Nouadhibou to inaugurate an oil refinery, a project assisted by Algeria, during the tenure Mauritanian President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.

Tebboune was received at Nouakchott Airport by his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

He is set to join other African leaders at the two-day conference with the theme “Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century” which begins on Tuesday.

On Feb. 22, Presidents Tebboune and El Ghazouani inaugurated the first land crossing connecting the two countries.

The two presidents also launched work on a road linking the Mauritanian city of Zouerat to Tindouf in southwestern Algeria, spanning more than 700 kilometers (435 miles).

Mauritania and Algeria share a 460-kilometer (286-mile) land border, along which several smuggling and illicit trade networks operate.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala