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Mauritania
Index
Most of Mauritania's developmental assistance in the 1980s
was provided by France, which was also the major supplier of
private direct investment. Bilateral accords signed with France
in 1961 provided for economic, financial, technical, cultural,
and military cooperation and aid. Although Mauritania opposed
France on Algerian independence, nuclear testing in the Sahara,
and French arms sales to South Africa, ties remained cordial
through the Daddah term. French citizens worked in Mauritania as
technical assistants in the government, administrators, teachers,
and judges. Daddah frequently traveled to France, and French
development aid flowed to Mauritania. The level of French
involvement rose markedly following the outbreak of hostilities
in the Western Sahara. Between 1976 and 1979, when Mauritania
unilaterally declared peace and withdrew from combat, French
aircraft provided air support for Mauritanian troops fighting
Polisario forces, and French paratroops were stationed at
Nouadhibou.
Activity by Mauritanian dissidents in France, together with
Mauritania's gradual policy shift toward the Polisario, resulted
in a growing coolness toward Paris. In May 1979, Mauritania asked
France to remove its troops from Nouadhibou. France continued to
provide a high level of financial aid, although less than
requested by the Haidalla government, and this curtailment
further strained ties. Following alleged accusations of Moroccan
support of a coup attempt in March 1981, Haidalla again turned to
France to obtain guarantees of Mauritania's territorial
integrity. French president Georges Pompidou and Haidalla
concluded an accord in 1981, as Morocco threatened to carry the
struggle against Polisario guerrillas into Mauritanian territory.
As Morocco's advancing sand walls increasingly obligated
Polisario guerrillas to use Mauritania as a staging area,
President Haidalla and, later, President Taya sought and received
guarantees of French support in August 1984 and June 1987.
Data as of June 1988
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