King Felipe welcomed the president of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, at the Zarzuela Palace for a lunch in connection with his working visit to Spain.
Before the meal, the two heads of state held a bilateral meeting with small delegations; on the Spanish side, the King was accompanied by the Spanish Ambassador to Mauritania, Miriam Álvarez de la Rosa, and the State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau.
President Ghazouani, for his part, was joined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperations and Mauritanians Abroad, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and the Mauritanian Ambassador to Spain, Boubacar Kane.
Following the meeting, King Felipe and Queen Letizia offered a meal to President Ghazouani and First Lady Mariam Mint Mohamed Vadel Ould Dah.
This royal stop was in line with the rules of a working visit, where the head of State of the welcoming country does not play as central a role as they would in a State or official visit.
During his trip to Spain, it is understood that President Ghazouani will focus on economic meetings, specifically with business owners both Spanish and Mauritanian.
President Ghazouani has been the Head of State since August of 2019, in the first peaceful transfer of powers since Mauritania’s independence from France.
The country, located in western Africa between the Sahel and Maghreb regions, is a former French colony, and gained its independence in November of 1960.
Since then, it has been on the world’s radar as the last country in the world to officially abolish (1981) and criminalise (2007) slavery, although the practice is still considered as exhausting because of the historical caste system between the two main ethnic groups, the Bidhan and the Haratin.
Because of its history of military coups and subsequent military governments, the peaceful transfer of powers that led President Ghazouani to power was considered a sign of progress.
