Mauritania Establishes Diplomatic
Relations with Israel

(October 28, 1999)

Foreign Minister David Levy will sign an agreement in Washington October 28, 1999, establishing full diplomatic relations with Mauritania, an Islamic country and a member of the Arab League. 

The signing ceremony will be held at the U.S. State Department in the presence of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright – who invited the Foreign Minister and his Mauritanian counterpart, Ahmed Sid’Ahmed, to sign the agreement in Washington. The United States views this important development as a product of, among other things, the September 24, 1999, New York meeting initiated by the United States, and attended by the Foreign Ministers of Israel, Mauritania and a series of other Arab states.

Earlier this year, Israel announced its first project in Mauritania, an eye clinic operated by the Foreign Ministry's Center for International Cooperation (MASHAV).

Both Israel and the United States view the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Mauritania as a milestone in the promotion of normalization, which is widely seen as the goal of the peace process which has evolved since the Madrid Conference. Mauritania joins Egypt and Jordan as the only members of the Arab League to post ambassadors in Israel. The Foreign Ministry will continue to work for the development and strengthening of Israel’s relations with other countries in the region.

Source: Israel Government Press Office