Mauritania’s foreign minister has made a landmark visit to Damascus, marking the first such high-level diplomatic engagement between the two countries since 2011 and signalling a formal thaw in relations after nearly 15 years of suspension.
During the visit, the Mauritanian FM Mohamed Salem Ould Merzouga was received by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. According to Syrian news agency SANA, talks focused on bilateral relations and ways to enhance cooperation between Syria and Mauritania in areas of mutual interest.
The Mauritanian Foreign Minister had earlier met his syrian peer Asaad al-Shaibani. The two sides discussed means of strengthening cooperation across multiple sectors. Both sides also underscored the importance of continued consultation and coordination in pursuit of shared interests between the two nations, reported the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Both sides also underscored the importance of continued consultation and coordination in pursuit of shared interests between the two nations.
The engagement effectively ends a prolonged diplomatic freeze that began in 2011, when high-level exchanges were suspended following political developments in Syria. The last visit by a Mauritanian foreign minister to Damascus occurred in March 2011.
The renewed contact comes in the context of significant political transitions in Syria in recent years, including the end of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in December 2024 after he fled to Russia. A transitional administration under President Ahmad al-Sharaa was subsequently formed in January 2025.
This latest visit is being interpreted as a cautious but symbolic step toward rebuilding regional diplomatic channels and re-establishing formal state-to-state relations after more than a decade of disengagement.
