Brussels, 25/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - The EU has decided fully to resume development cooperation with Mauritania. The Council decision, adopted without debate on Monday 25 January, follows the election of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz as President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The EU considers that a consensual solution to the political crisis has been implemented and that Mauritania has returned to constitutional order.
Sanctions put in place by the EU following the coup d'état of 6 August 2008 have, then, been repealed. The EU invites Mauritania to a close political dialogue with it to strengthen the stability of the country. The EU will support Mauritania's continuing efforts to overcome its economic and political difficulties, including new security and terrorist threats, while encouraging the national inclusive dialogue open to all parties.
Consultations between the EU and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement were concluded on 6 April 2009. A roadmap was drafted by the Council with a view to the phased resumption of development cooperation if a consensual solution could be found to the crisis in Mauritania. Since the Dakar Agreement, signed by the country's political forces on 4 June 2009, the EU has gradually resumed its development cooperation with Mauritania. Relations between the two have now been fully normalised. (A.N./transl.rt)