On November 19, 2023, as part of a working visit to the city of Nouakchott, the Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa Maksym Subh met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug.

During the meeting, the parties discussed in detail ways to activate and further develop bilateral cooperation in trade and economy, energy, agriculture, mining, information and communication technologies, culture and education. Maksym Subh informed the Mauritanian Minister about the intention of the Ukrainian side to open new embassies of Ukraine in Africa in the near future in order to give a new impetus, in particular, to the Ukrainian-Mauritanian relations.

Maksym Subh invited Mauritania to join the efforts in order to promote and to support the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the context of the international efforts to ensure global food security and support the countries that suffer the most from hunger, the Ukrainian side renewed the invitation to Mauritania to participate in the International Summit on Food Security 2023, which will be held in Kyiv on November 25. The Special Representative emphasized the need to restore the functioning of the Black Sea Grain Corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain to the countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Maksym Subkh also called on Mauritania to support and join the “Grain from Ukraine” initiative launched by the President of Ukraine, which is aimed at increasing food supplies to African and Asian countries.

The Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa expressed his gratitude to the Mauritanian side for its firm support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the framework of the UN General Assembly. In his turn, the Mauritanian Minister highlighted the principled position of his country regarding the unconditional compliance with the provisions of the UN Charter and norms of international law, including respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of countries, as well as the implementation of the rights of the states that have become the object aggression, in self-defense according to Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.