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Transcript of Special Briefing by Secretary (CPV & OIA) on President's Visit to Mauritania (October 17, 2024)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

October 19, 2024

Shri Rajesh Parihar, Director (XPD): Good afternoon everyone. I welcome you all to this Special Media Briefing about the visit of Honorable President to Mauritania, which has concluded late last night. And for that, I have with me Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs; and Smt. Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to the President of India. Now I request Secretary (CPV & OIA) to brief the media on the visit.

Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): Thank you, Rajesh. Friends, good afternoon. As you all know, Honorable Rashtrapati ji is on a three-nation State visit to Algeria, Mauritania and Malawi. I have already briefed you on her visit to Algeria, which took place from 13 to 15 October. So I thought that I would now brief you on her visit to Mauritania, which was the second leg of her visit.

Honorable Rashtrapati ji arrived in Mauritania on the morning of 16 October. And she was received at the Nouakchott Airport, as a special gesture, by the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, His Excellency, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. Rashtrapati ji was accorded a ceremonial guard of honor by the defence forces of Mauritania. The importance attached by the Mauritanian side is visible from the fact that almost the entire Mauritanian Cabinet was present at the airport. They all welcomed Honorable Rashtrapati ji, and she was also introduced to the Resident Ambassadors who are based in Mauritania. As we have already informed you, this is a very special visit to Mauritania, because this is the first visit by the President of India to Mauritania.

If I give you a little bit of the context on the visit, then I would like to add that this year, India and Mauritania are celebrating the 62 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. Also, Mauritania is currently the Chair of the African Union and the first Chair after the African Union has become the member of the G20 during India's Presidency in September 2023.

Now, if I come to the various elements of the program that the Honorable Rashtrapati ji had during this visit to Mauritania; in the afternoon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Mauritanians Abroad, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug called on Rashtrapati ji. There were wide-ranging discussions during the interactions, which affirmed the mutual trust and strong commitment towards enhancing the bilateral partnership for progress and prosperity of the people of both the countries.

In the evening, Honorable Rashtrapati ji had a community interaction where she addressed the members of the Indian community in Mauritania. Addressing them, she hailed their contribution in the development process of Mauritania. She also thanked the Government of Mauritania and its people for helping the Indian community in the country. She mentioned that as India moves towards building a Viksit Bharat by 2047, our overseas family is a very important factor in this process. She also mentioned about the sectors where India and Mauritania would cooperate together, such as human resource development, infrastructure building, agriculture, health, education, skill development, and digital innovation. She also mentioned that the Indian community here in Mauritania could contribute in this process.

Later in the evening, at the Presidential Palace, Honorable Rashtrapati ji met the President of Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. First of all, the two leaders had a tete-a-tete, and thereafter, there were delegation level talks. The delegation level talks were followed by the signing of four bilateral MoUs and agreements. These were on cultural cooperation, exemption of visa for diplomats and service passport holders, on Foreign Office Consultations, and an MoU between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and the Diplomatic Academy of Mauritania. The talks were held in a very friendly and cordial manner.

Both the leaders discussed wide range of issues for strengthening bilateral relations between India and Mauritania and decided to take the relations to newer heights. Following that, the President of Mauritania hosted a banquet in honor of Rashtrapati ji. I may also add here that during these talks, Honorable President extended an invitation to President Ghazouani to visit India, which he accepted. The mutually convenient dates for the visit would be worked out through normal diplomatic channels.

Following the conclusion of the visit, Honorable Rashtrapati ji departed from Mauritania late in the evening yesterday, where she was seen off at the airport by the Prime Minister of Mauritania, His Excellency Mokhtar Ould Djay. Honorable Rashtrapati ji has arrived today morning here in Malawi on the third leg of her visit on which we will be briefing you subsequently.

Before I move on to the questions, let me just add a little bit about the agreements that were signed yesterday between India and Mauritania. The first Agreement I would mention is about the consultations between the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad of Mauritania. This Agreement will promote bilateral relations in various fields of common interest for strengthening international peace and security, and will be useful for exchange of opinion and consultations between the two countries at different levels.

The second was an MoU between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, which is under the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad of the Republic of Mauritania. This MoU will facilitate cooperation in mutually beneficial areas of activity, including exchange of information of structure and content of training programme for diplomats, identification of experts in mutually agreed areas and promote contacts and exchange of diplomats, faculty members and experts.

The third Agreement between the Governments of India and Mauritania on exemption from visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official service passports was also signed yesterday. This Agreement is expected to facilitate the entry of diplomats and service passport holders of the two countries who are coming on diplomatic work in each other's country and this exemption is for a period of 90 days.

The fourth Agreement was on the Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Mauritania for the years 2024 to 2028. The objective of CEP is to strengthen the friendly links and deepen cultural relations between the two countries for the period 2024 to 2028. As you know, people-to-people contacts is an important area where significant stress is given by the leaders of both the countries. The areas that the CEP is expected to cover are in the fields of music, dance, theatre, art, archaeology, archives, library, museum, literature, anthropology, festival, mass media and youth programme.

So, all these four Agreements were signed at the inter-governmental level. Besides this, on the sidelines of the visit, there was a private agreement signed between two entities, one Indian entity and another Mauritanian entity regarding mining of phosphates in Mauritania. So that was signed on the sidelines of the visit at another separate event, which I thought I will just inform you.

So friends, I would like to conclude by saying that this first State visit of Honorable Rashtrapati Ji to Mauritania will not only reinforce the long-standing friendship between India and Mauritania, but also set the stage for elevating our multifaceted partnership with Mauritania to the next level. It will help us in laying a very strong foundation for closer bilateral cooperation across various sectors. So, friends, I would like to stop here and would be happy to accept any questions that you might have on the visit to Mauritania. Thank you.

Tanmay: Hello, sir. I am Tanmay from ANI. Sir, as you said, the visit of the President to Mauritania was a historic one. Being the first by any Indian President, what are those areas of bilateral relations which have immediate potential to see the progress?

Speaker: Sir, this visit by President Murmu has primarily been focusing on expanding economic ties with African nations. Now, apart from the four MoUs which were signed and one private MoU which you mentioned about mining of phosphates, are there any other business agreements that India and Mauritania are looking into in the near future, apart from this phosphate mining thing, on similar lines? And if so, are they at a preliminary level or some details have been worked out on this?

Mayusha: Sir, I am Mayusha from Akashvani News. In continuation to that, what are the other opportunities that Indian investors can look for in Mauritania through these visits?

Ajeet: Sir I am Ajeet Dwivedi from DD News. The President said that her visit to Mauritania will help lay the foundation of closer relation between Mauritania and India, and bilateral cooperation across the various sectors. So what is the opportunity for India in investment in Mauritania?

Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): Okay, so I will cover all together because more or less the questions are almost the same.

So, as I said that, you know, our Embassy here was opened in June 2021 and we are expecting that Mauritania will also open their Embassy in India very soon. So, the opening of our Embassy here in Mauritania has really helped us in taking the bilateral relationship even faster. So, what are both sides looking at? Now, we are looking at strengthening our relationship, especially in fields such as infrastructure development, oil exploration, mining, power, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, engineering, as well as in the education sectors. So these are some of the areas which both sides feel have immense potential and both sides can work on further development. Cultural exchange program has laid a strong foundation for expansion of cooperation in the cultural sector as well as in the people-to-people areas.

Now, Mauritania, as you already know, has abundant resources, particularly iron ore, copper, gold, then lithium, phosphate, which I just mentioned, diamonds and a few more. Now, all these are very, very important sectors where Indian companies can come in and invest. We have been given assurance of full cooperation by the Mauritanian side that facilitation to Indian investors will be extended by the Government of Mauritania. There is a big possibility and there is a huge potential. Our trade also will therefore get a boost if Indian investments come in and we are able to identify newer items that can be added to the trade basket.

The question that you raised, which are the areas where investors can come in, these are the areas which I just mentioned. I mean, mining is one big area where Indian companies can come in and invest. Phosphates, just as I mentioned, was signed an MoU yesterday. I am still awaiting for the greater details of that MoU.

Which are the other areas? Still, we do not have any information about the other areas or other MoUs that are in the pipeline between the various organizations. We are hoping that this visit of Honorable Rashtrapati ji will motivate more Indian companies, more Indian investors to come and look at Mauritania for investment and business purposes. So in that way, as Honorable Rashtrapati ji has said, this visit will open up a new chapter in the India-Mauritania relationship.

Shri Rajesh Parihar, Director (XPD): Sir, as I see there are no more requests for questions. So with your permission sir, I would like to conclude this Special Media Briefing. Thank you sir and thank you everyone for being with us today and the briefing is over. Thank you.