Israel and Mauritania to Establish Diplomatic Relations

(Communicated by Foreign Ministry Spokesman)
27 October 1999

Foreign Minister David Levy will tomorrow (Thursday), 28.10.99, in Washington, sign an agreement establishing full diplomatic relations with Mauritania, an Islamic country and a member of the Arab League.

The signing ceremony will be held at the US State Department in the presence of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright - who invited the Foreign Minister and his Mauritanian counterpart, Ahmed Sid'Ahmed, to sign the agreement in Washington. The United States views this important development as a product, among other things, of the September 24, 1999 meeting in New York initiated by the United States, and attended by the Foreign Ministers of Israel and many Arab states. Foreign Ministers Levy and Sid'Ahmed also met in New York.

Both Israel and the United States view the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Mauritania - made possible through the efforts of Foreign Ministry Director-General Eytan Bentsur and US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Martin Indyk - as a milestone in the promotion of normalization, which is widely seen as the goal of the peace process which has evolved since the Madrid Conference. The Foreign Ministry will continue to work for the development and strengthening of Israel's relations with other countries in the region.