Mauritania–United States relations

Mauritania–United States relations are bilateral relations between Mauritania and the United States.

Overview

After Mauritania gained independence on 28 November 1960, the United States maintained cordial relations with Mauritania and provided a small amount of economic assistance. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Mauritania broke diplomatic and consular relations with the United States, but restored ties two years later and maintained relatively positive relations until the late 1980s, despite disagreement over the Arab–Israeli conflict. Since 1981, the United States has provided about $130 million in economic and food assistance.

The 1989 rupture between Mauritania and Senegal (the "1989 Events") that resulted in Mauritania's deportation of tens of thousands of its own citizens to Senegal, negatively affected U.S.-Mauritanian relations. Moreover, Mauritania's perceived support of Iraq prior to and during the 1991 Gulf War further weakened the strained ties.

Relations between the U.S. and Mauritania reached a low in the spring of 1991, as details of the Mauritanian military's role in widespread human rights abuses surfaced. The U.S. responded by formally halting USAID operations and all military assistance to Mauritania. Relations also suffered in the 1990s as a result of repeated reports that slavery continued in some parts of Mauritania despite legal proscriptions.

By the late 1990s, the Mauritanian government adopted policies facilitating the return of those expelled or who fled during the 1989 Events; turned away from Iraq and toward the West; and initiated a poverty reduction strategy while securing debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.