French army chief visits Mauritania

The chief of general staff of the French military, general Jean-Louis Gorgelin, arrived on Sunday in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott for a working visit, the northwest African country's military said.

The French general will meet Mauritanian Defense Minister Hammadi Ould Hammadi before visiting his counterpart Ghazwani in the northern towns of Chinguitty and Atar.

The French army chief will also hold discussions with other Mauritanian leaders on the promotion of cooperation between the two countries.

Mauritania and France which have maintained military cooperation since 1960 are currently engaged in a common security policy to fight terrorism and all types of trafficking.

Last week, Nouakchott hosted a meeting of security experts from the two countries whose main objective was to identify new methods of fighting against terrorist activities, drug trafficking and organized crime.

According to observers, France wants to resume warm ties with its former colony after cold periods of military cooperation, in the aftermath of indicting a Mauritanian captain Ely Ould Dah by the French justice system in 1999, and a military coup in August 2008.

The two countries have obviously come together following a terror attack in early August when a member of the al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, a major terrorist group in North Africa, launched a suicide bombing attack near the French Embassy in Mauritania.

Source:Xinhua