Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met on Friday, February 16th, with his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. This meeting occurred «on the margins of the 44th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council», according to Moroccan diplomatic sources. This was the second meeting between the two ministers in recent weeks, following their January 22nd encounter in Rabat where Bourita stressed Mauritania's crucial role in the Moroccan initiative granting Sahel countries access to the Atlantic Ocean. He stated, «Mauritania has its place, its role, and is an essential actor in this initiative, in accordance with the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI». During the AU session, Ould Merzoug also held separate meetings with the Polisario representative to the AU Executive Council, Mohamed Sidati, and the Algerian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf. Notably, Algerian Foreign Minister Attaf visited Nouakchott on February 9th to deliver a message from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Cheikh Ould El Ghazouani.
