Two weeks ago, a senior official from the Trump administration announced the upcoming inclusion of new countries in the Abraham Accords. Among the most talked-about candidates is Mauritania, and speculation is rapidly turning into concrete developments. «Mauritania is set to take a step toward resuming ties with the state of Israel at a White House meeting brokered by US President Donald Trump later Wednesday», an international media outlet reported.
According to the same source, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of a U.S.-Africa mini-summit, which will also include leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Senegal. Officials from the White House, the State Department, and the Mauritanian embassy in Washington have so far declined to comment on the reports.
Mauritania and Israel first established full diplomatic relations in 1999 under the presidency of Colonel Maaouiya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya. At the time, Morocco and Tunisia (under former President Ben Ali) had also agreed to host Israeli liaison offices, following the Oslo Accords of 1993. However, Mauritania severed ties with Israel after the 2008 war in Gaza, formally ending relations in 2010.
Notably, in March 2023, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen stated that «negotiations with Mauritania are at an advanced stage», during a visit to Berlin, further fueling expectations of Nouakchott’s potential inclusion in the Abraham Accords.
Mauritania’s main political and economic partner is the United Arab Emirates, one of the original signatories of the Abraham Accords in 2020. In addition to pressure from Abu Dhabi, the influence of Trump-era diplomacy and regional security concerns, particularly the threat of terrorism, may also be pushing Nouakchott toward normalization.
A renewed relationship between Mauritania and Israel could spark a strong reaction from Algeria. Following Morocco’s tripartite agreement with the U.S. and Israel in December 2020, Algiers severed diplomatic ties with Rabat and launched a series of economic retaliations.
