GL in bilateral discussions with Mauritania President

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris had bilateral discussions with Mauritania President Mohamed Abdel Aziz on Friday.

President Abdel Aziz, accepting the felicitations of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said that there are many features in common between the challenges faced by Sri Lanka and Mauritania. He referred to the sharp focus on infrastructure as a key to the strengthening of Mauritania’s economy, and noted with interest the observations by Minister Peiris in respect of the dominant thrust in Sri Lanka regarding the improvement of roads, railways, ports and harbours.

The President described the coastline and the sea as a significant natural asset of his country, and showed keen interest in current developments in Sri Lanka in the fisheries and tourism sectors.

President Abdel Aziz commented that both countries would derive substantial benefit from closer co-operation both bilaterally and in multilateral fora.

It was noted that tea and dried vegetables represent Sri Lanka’s main exports to Mauritania, while cane and beet sugar are the principal imports from Mauritania.

There was agreement that this foundation needed to be built upon to expansion and diversification of trade between the two countries. President Abdel Aziz agreed with Minister Peiris that logistics in this regard could be further discussed at the level of officials.

President Aziz thanked the visiting Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister for the support which Mauritania received from Sri Lanka in its bid for a seat in the United Nations Security Council for 2012-2013.

Prof Peiris expressed appreciation of Mauritania’s support for the candidature of Dr. Rohan Perera for the International Law Commission in the election held in New York in November last year. Minister Peiris explained in detail to the Mauritania President the developments taking place in Sri Lanka today, including the action taken by the Sri Lankan President to appoint a local Commission to advise comprehensively on national reconciliation, the major recommendations contained in the Report of the Commission recently submitted to Parliament, and the government’s policy with regard to development, reconstruction and reconciliation.

The Mauritania President appreciated the progress being made in Sri Lanka in a variety of sectors after the defeat of terrorism.

Prof. Peiris was received separately by the Mauritania Foreign Minister Hamady Ould Hamady, for a wide-ranging discussion.

The Minister of External Affairs was interviewed on national television in all three West African countries he visited this week - Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.