Turkish President Arrives in Mauritania as Part of His African Tour

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Mauritania late Wednesday on the second-leg of a four-country tour of Africa.

Erdogan was welcomed at the Nouakchott International Airport in the capital by Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

The Turkish president was accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan, Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmus and Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

Erdogan and Abdel Aziz held an one-on-one meeting for approximately one hour, which was followed by a meeting of delegations for half an hour.

The two leaders then oversaw the signing ceremony of several bilateral agreements.

The agreements involved cooperation in fishery and marine economy, agriculture, protection of investments, tourism, hydrocarbons, mines and minerals, diaspora issues, Turkish Maarif Foundation and higher education scholarships.

Erdogan, also accompanied by a delegation of businessmen and investors, is expected to hold talks to boost trade ties.

His visit is Turkey’s first-ever official visit at the presidential level to Mauritania.

Erdogan started his tour on Feb. 26 with a visit to Algeria; he is expected to visit Mali and Senegal next.

Last December, Erdogan paid a four-day visit to Sudan, Chad and Tunisia.

Since 2004, Erdogan has paid official visits to 24 African countries, spearheading the signings of numerous bilateral pacts.