The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has finally begun a growing interest in Mauritania, which was further strengthened during its summit in Madrid at the end of last June, to which only two countries outside the alliance were invited, namely, Mauritania and Jordan.
Spain is leading an initiative for rapprochement between Mauritania and NATO, as Madrid sees that the danger comes from the south as well as from the east, in reference to the instability that may erupt in the African Sahel region.
The African Sahel region (west of the continent) includes Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger.
In an interview with the Mauritanian News Agency, published on the second of last July, Javier Colomina, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, said that Nouakchott's role in the Sahel region is great and necessary for two reasons: the first is that it is the only partner of NATO in the Sahel region, and it is "the only one." who can access some of our tools in a systematic way because they are a partner.”
As for the second reason, "Mauritania is the only country in the Sahel that controls its lands and borders, and it is a country that enjoys political and security stability, so cooperation with it is better in the eyes of the alliance."
At its summit in Madrid, NATO announced its intention to provide an aid package to Mauritania, without disclosing its size or quality, while NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that this aid aims to support Mauritania's efforts in dealing with border security, irregular migration and terrorism.
The Russians and the Atlantic
"The rapprochement between Mauritania and NATO can only be read in the context of what the alliance called at the Madrid summit the new strategic concept and the raging conflict between Russia and the West sparked by the Russian war in Ukraine," said journalist specializing in Spanish affairs, Mohamed El Amine Ould Khatari.
Ould Khatari pointed out that Russia's presence in African regions raises European concerns in light of the global scene formed according to a new map, through which Moscow is trying to play strategic roles in Africa and Asia.
"There is also no doubt that the Russian presence in Mali and the announced Russian military aid to Bamako raised NATO's fears and strengthened what it called the alliance's southern wing at its last summit," he added.
Ould Khatari stressed that the current conflict between Russia and the alliance is a struggle for influence to obtain a strategic foothold, especially over the sea ports, "and everyone knows that Mauritania has beaches extending to the European Union, and extending in the overlap of its territorial waters to the Spanish territorial waters."
Hence, the presence of the Russians in Mali and their proximity to the region may raise the fears of European strategists of Russia's access to a transatlantic port.
Ould Khattari said that these developments reinforced the fears of the European Union countries, and made NATO establish a new strategic concept through which Mauritania would be a partner in counteracting Russian influence in the region, although it has not been officially announced yet.
He pointed out that Mauritania, due to its strategic location, is an essential platform in the new vision of NATO by virtue of the overlapping borders with the Canary Islands.
He added that terrorist groups can take advantage of the instability in the region, especially in Mali after the withdrawal of French forces, which may affect the European borders represented in Spain, the first European gateway to the alliance.
"This was established according to the new strategic perspective of the state of security overlap between Mauritania and the countries of the European Union, and therefore Mauritania is highly likely to become the first effective locomotive in the context of these new strategic transformations," he added.
traditional relationship
Ould Khattari said that the relationship between Nouakchott and Madrid in the security contexts is a traditional one and is based on accumulations of intelligence, security and military exchanges due to the overlap between the Canary Islands and Mauritania, as the African neighbor closest to the Spanish borders, after Morocco and Algeria.
Through this interference, Spain tried to play the card of bringing Mauritania closer to the NATO countries and enhancing the position of Spain's strategic security, but according to the European umbrella or the alliance's umbrella.
As for the Mauritanian political analyst Wali Ould Sidi Heiba, he recalls that the relationship of the alliance and Nouakchott is old, and includes cooperation and coordination in the areas of combating terrorism and irregular migration.
Ould Sidi Haiba notes that the alliance has worked in recent years to support Mauritania in the fields of military training.
He stresses that the recent NATO summit in Madrid, with the subsequent visits of European officials to Nouakchott, confirms that this cooperation will be strengthened.