Madar (Nouakchott) - Mauritania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, held separate talks on Saturday 14 November 2026 with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, French Minister Delegate for Francophonie and International Partnerships Eleonore Caroit, and Vietnam's Deputy Foreign Minister, on the sidelines of the 48th Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie in Phnom Penh, according to the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI).
According to the same source, the meeting with Caroit covered cooperation between Mauritania and France and ways to develop it; the two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues, "in particular ways to coordinate positions in support of Mauritania's candidate for Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie".
In the talks with the Vietnamese deputy minister, the two sides stressed their wish to raise bilateral cooperation, with a particular focus on energy, gas and geological research, and discussed ways to coordinate in support of the Mauritanian candidate, the agency said.
The meeting with Canada's foreign minister covered cooperation between the two countries and ways to strengthen it, as well as international developments and coordination of positions on issues of common interest, according to the same source.
The President's special envoy to the OIF, Koumba Ba, whom Mauritania put forward in April as its candidate for the organisation's Secretary General post, attended the meetings with Canada and Vietnam.
Ould Merzoug took part on Saturday in the opening of the Ministerial Conference, which precedes the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, where President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has arrived to take part.
