Senegal president begins visit to Mauritania

Senegalese President Macky Sall began today a one-day visit to Mauritania, during which he will join his Mauritanian counterpart to lay the foundation stone for a bridge linking the two countries.

According to the official Mauritanian News Agency, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani received his Senegalese counterpart at Nouakchott airport.

The two presidents are scheduled to leave for the Mauritanian city of Rosso where the bridge is being built to link the banks of the Senegal River.

The construction of the bridge is scheduled to be completed in 30 months at a cost of €87.63   million ($99.5 million). It is being co-financed by the governments of both countries, the European Union and the African Development Bank, according to official Mauritanian data.

The two countries expect the bridge to facilitate the movement of goods between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. It will also strengthen the Tangiers (Morocco), Nouakchott (Mauritania), Dakar (Senegal) and Lagos (Nigeria) line.

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