Western Sahara: Mauritania receives a Sahrawi delegation

The president of the Sahrawi National Council, Hamma Salama, was received in Nouakchott, Mauritania, by President Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani, as reported by the Moroccan government-friendly Hespress on February 25th. 

The visit is unexpected, given the context of recent tensions, with Mauritania reportedly concerned about the Polisario militias’ activities on the Algerian-Mauritanian border.

It has accused both Algeria and the Polisario of trying to destabilise Mauritania. The Tindouf refugee camps, under the Polisario’s leadership, are only 75km from the Mauritanian border, and the area has become associated with violence and terrorism, with a high risk of kidnapping.

In June 2025, Mauritania rejected a request from the Polisario to reopen the Bir Keika border, due to repeated incursions by the militias into its territory and concerns that they were preparing an attack against Morocco.

The Bir Keika area has now been classified as a closed military zone. Mauritania has so far maintained a neutral position on the Western Sahara conflict, although it recently signed an agreement with Morocco to develop an electricity network across the disputed region, linking the two countries.

It also keeps friendly relations with Algeria, with President Tebboune visiting Mauritania in December 2024- the first visit from an Algerian president in almost 40 years.

Salama’s visit follows the two rounds of negotiations organised by the US on the Western Sahara issue, which brought together officials from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario Front.

The latest meeting in Washington was reportedly held at the same time on February 23rd and 24th, but it is unclear whether this trip to Mauritania was related.

A Polisario Front delegation had previously visited Nouakchott in May 2025, again with no official statement about what was discussed.

Hespress notes that the meeting in Nouakchott seemed deliberately downplayed by the Mauritanian authorities, with the absence of the Parliament’s leader. The local newspaper also gave little notice of this visit, reflecting the cold relationship between the two parties.

Hespress, The Arab Weekly, Maghrebi.org