The Diplomat
Queen Letizia concluded yesterday her trip to Mauritania, where she was able to see first hand the work of the Spanish Cooperation in the areas of health, governance and gender equality, rural development and food security.
This was the seventh cooperation trip made by the Queen, who has recovered a custom started by Queen Sofia in 1997. Previously, Doña Letizia traveled to Honduras and El Salvador (2015), Senegal (2017), Dominican Republic and Haiti (2018), Mozambique (2019), again Honduras (2020) and Paraguay (late 2021).
Queen Letizia, who traveled accompanied by the Secretary of State for International Cooperation (SECI), Pilar Cancela, arrived last Tuesday in Nouakchott, where she was received by the First Lady of Mauritania, Mariem Fadel Dah; the ambassador of Spain, Miriam Alvarez de la Rosa; and the ambassador of Mauritania in Madrid, Boubacar Kane, among other authorities.
The activities began on Wednesday with a visit to the Technical Cooperation Office (OTC) of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), inaugurated in 1998 and which currently manages a portfolio of 32 projects under implementation for a value of more than 36 million euros, with funds from the EU’s delegated cooperation. After unveiling a plaque commemorating her visit, the Queen made a tour of the facilities accompanied by the Spanish Ambassador.
Ms. Letizia then moved on to the logistics platform of the National Society for the Distribution of Frozen Fish (SNDP), where she visited its Distribution Project. This is a flagship program of the Spanish Cooperation to improve the eating habits of the Mauritanian population. The next point of the day was a visit to the Integral Project of Attention to Victims of Gender Violence, in which the Ministries of the Interior of the two countries collaborate. Doña Letizia toured the Special Police Station against Gender Violence accompanied by the Minister of Social Action, Childhood and Family, Safia N’Tahah.
Later, the Queen visited the University of Nouakchott with the First Lady of the Republic, Mariam Mint Ahmed, where she was briefed at the Faculty of Medicine on the training projects for medical specialists, led by the Spanish doctor Marta Bernardino, and at the Faculty of Law and Economics on the gender observatory project.
After this visit, the Queen travelled to Bellawahk where, accompanied by the Minister Safia N’Tahah, she visited the Promopêche Project for the promotion of artisanal fishing in protected natural areas, financed by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for the fight against the root causes of irregular migration in Africa and managed by AECID, the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ) and the World Labor Organization (ILO). Ms. Letizia was informed about the activities of the Spanish-Mauritanian cooperation in the training of fishing gear and had the opportunity to visit an area for the restoration of fishing nets, a mechanical room and another for artisanal fish processing. The first day concluded with a meeting with the Spanish Cooperation at the Residence of the Spanish Embassy in Mauritania.
Second day
Yesterday morning, the Queen visited the Queen Letizia Agricultural Innovation Project, a pilot program supported by Spanish Cooperation with EU funds, located in the plot of land in the Nouakchott Region, where she toured its facilities. The next point of his trip was the Emergency Center (SAMU), a pre-hospital service that did not exist in the country and in which AECID provides technical support to the Mauritanian Ministry of Health. The service was launched at the end of 2021 with the collaboration of the Municipal Emergency and Rescue Municipal Assistance Service (SAMUR) of Madrid and the Andalusian Health Service.
Ms. Letizia then headed to the Zayed Center where, together with the First Lady, she was able to learn about the activities in favor of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Queen’s cooperation trip concluded with a working lunch offered by the First Lady in her honor, after which she was transferred to Nouakchott International Airport to return to Spain.
Mauritania is listed in the directory of the AECID within the group of Least Developed Countries. Mauritania has been a priority country for Spanish Cooperation since 1995, when the first joint development and anti-poverty initiatives were launched, and is a strategic partner in the Sahel with which Spain collaborates in promoting development, both bilaterally and through the Sahel Alliance. Twelve Spanish NGDOs operate in Mauritania, working in the sectors of rural development and food security, health and gender.
