Nouakchott : President Droupadi Murmu who is in Mauritania as a part of her three-state visit, met and held discussion with President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania at the Presidential Palace. In her interactions, the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the relationship.
As a part of this endeavour, four Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed in the areas of diplomats training, cultural exchange, visa exemption and Foreign Office consultations.
In a post on the social media platform, X, it was shared by the Ministry of External Affairs, that the two countries discussed about the "ongoing cooperation in areas of health, education, trade and investment, capacity building, culture and people-to-people ties."
https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1846739736175456446
Mauritania is a home to a small but vibrant Indian community. The President interacted with them earlier and commended the Indian community for contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of Mauritania. She said that their skills, expertise and experience are also important for India's progress.
In her address to the Indian diaspora, she said, "in her address to the Indian diaspora she said, "India is moving towards the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047 and to ensure that, our diaspora family plays a very important role in this process."
She also noted that, "with the support of the Indian diaspora, India can contribute towards Mauritania in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, development and digital innovation."
The President also met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad of Mauritania, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug.
In its press briefing on the President's visit to Mauritania, the MEA noted that the importance of the visit has to be seen in the context of Africa as a continent and how India wishes to engage and looking at having a stronger partnership with Africa.
MEA also noted that the partnership with Africa is very important because of multiple reasons such as the 33.2 million Indian strong diaspora is present in Africa and "shared values with the continent in terms of the freedom, liberty, democracy, and people-to-people contacts."
MEA noted that Mauritania has "immense natural resources that are important for our own growing industry, rich in iron ore, copper, gold, lithium, phosphate, and diamonds; and has potential for Indian investments also in the energy sector, particularly in oil reserves, there's a huge opportunity."
The President arrived in Mauritania on October 16. Her visit is taking place when Mauritania is currently holding the Chair-ship of the African Union. President Droupadi Murmu's visit becomes very important as this is the first visit by an Indian President to Mauritania.