Mauritania's foreign minister visits Damascus for 1st time since 2011

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani received his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, on Tuesday, in the first visit by a senior Mauritanian official to Damascus since 2011.

The two ministers discussed ways to develop joint cooperation between the two countries in various fields, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

The sides also stressed the importance of continuing consultation and coordination in a way that serves the common interests of the two brotherly nations, SANA added.

The visit marks an end to a high-level diplomatic freeze between the two countries that lasted nearly 15 years.

The last visit by a Mauritanian foreign minister to Damascus took place in March 2011, when Naha Mint Mouknass visited Syria, weeks before high-level official meetings between the two countries were frozen because of developments in Syria.

Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, 2024, bringing an end to the Baath Party's decades-long rule that began in 1963. A transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January 2025.

*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul