Mali–Mauritania relations

Malian - Mauritanian relations

Mali	Mauritania

Malian-Mauritanian relations relate to the interstate relations of Mali and Mauritania.

History

Since Mauritania negotiated a boundary dispute with Mali in 1963, ties between the two countries have been mostly cordial.^[1] Mali and Mauritania have cooperated on several development projects, such as the OMVS and a plan to improve roads between Nouakchott and Bamako.^[1] This cooperation somewhat lessened Mali's dependence on Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.^[1] Although relations were warm with other African states, since 1965 the orientation of Mauritania's foreign policy has been geared towards relations with North African countries.^[1]

Border crisis

Mauritanian and Malian relations arose in 2010, when French and Mauritanian forces launched a join military operation against AQIM fighters believe to be holding a French hostage on Malian soil without the consent of the Malian government. The operation was a failure and left 7 AQIM members and 2 Mauritian soldiers dead, with the hostage being executed. The operation was heavily criticized with it being considered to be an "unannounced declaration of war" against Mali^[2]

References

1. Handloff, Robert E. "Relations with Other African States". In Mauritania: A Country Study (Robert E. Handloff, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (June 1988). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2010/07/201072583453570993.html