São Paulo – The governments of Brazil and Mauritania signed last week an agreement for technical cooperation. The document was signed on Friday (17) by the minister of Foreign Relations of Brazil, Antonio Patriota, and the ambassador of Mauritania to Brazil, Kaba Alioua, in capital city Brasília, and it should serve as the legal basis for cooperation between both countries.
Early last year, the country opened its embassy in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, and promoted a trade delegation to the African country to identify demands for bilateral relations. The mission was promoted by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquiculture and the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE).
According to information disclosed by the ABC, during the mission, Brazilian cooperation was requested in the area of food safety, as well as in agriculture and fishing. For this reason, UFPE has been developing a project for institution reform of agricultural schools in Mauritania and the Ministry of Fisheries is studying a project for small-scale fish breeding. These projects should be sent for ABC approval in the near future, and then passed on to the government of Mauritania.
The agreement signed last week should serve as the framework for other similar projects. According to information disclosed by the ABC, at the embassy, technical cooperation was identified as one of the main areas necessary for the strengthening of relations between both countries. Mauritania already had knowledge of similar actions, on the Brazilian side, in other African nations – as relations with Africa are a government priority – and showed interest.
Brazil and Mauritania trade together, but bilateral trade is not very expressive. Brazil had export revenues of US$ 160 million to Mauritania last year, and the Arab country sold to Brazil a total of US$ 2,800. Products shipped by Brazil were mainly sugar, rice, iron and meats. The Brazilian market bought from Mauritania mainly integrated circuit boards.
*Translated by Mark Ament
