The EU development commissioner, Andris Piebalgs is going to
announce soon that the EU is giving 195 million euros to Mauritania
for food security, rule of law and healthcare. This money will be doled out
between 2014 and 2020. During the commissioners visit he is scheduled to meet
with both President Abdel Aziz and Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdhaf. During this
meeting they are going to discuss different areas of security for Mauritania including their ongoing cooperation with the EU to help
improve Mauritania’s fishing, development and security.
This visit is the first from a Commissioner
since 2008, and is not happening this week by accident. The EU-Africa summit
will take place on April 2nd and 3rd in Brussels.
Mauritania is currently the African Union president, and will play a key role
in this summit. The EU is also currently looking to Mauritania to help keep the
Sahel region stable. The Commissioner said that he wished “to congratulate the country on all the work it is doing to make the
country, and the wider region, more stable".
While in Mauritania
the Commissioner will participate in launching a project that will rehabilitate
and enlarge the Naoakchott-Rosso road, which is almost 200km long and is the
key transportation route for Mauritania and Senegal. The EU has donated 51
million Euros along with the funds the Mauritanian Government is already
providing and the World bank is donating. This will play a key role in trade
and help to improve access to markets for the farmers along this route. This is
a good example of what can be done when different groups partner up in this
region.
The commissioner will also be able to get a
firsthand look at what EU projects are doing
in Mauritania. One example is a school for girls in the Toujounine
village and a police training school.
This is important for how Mauritania will interact with the rest of the Arab League. If they have interest in working with other international organizations this may change how they go into Arab League meetings, and it may change how they voice their opinions. This may also make them begin to work on improving their human rights problems which will make them more appealing to other International Organizations which can also bring more attention to the Arab League.
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