His Excellency Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad received His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), on Thursday, 09 Rajab 1443H corresponding to 10 February 2022G, in his office at the Ministry’s headquarters in Nouakchott, Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

His Excellency the Minister welcomed his guest and congratulated him for his outstanding pioneering and leadership role through his outstanding performance in managing the Academy, then expressed to him his full commitment and that of the Mauritanian government to strengthening relations with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and all its organs, especially the Academy which is headed for the first time in its history by a citizen of the African Group represented in the person of His Excellency. He also expressed his Ministry’s readiness to support the various projects and programs of the Academy aimed at promoting peace, tolerance, and love in the world. During the meeting, the two sides also discussed the outcomes and recommendations of the Second African Conference for the Promotion of Peace held in Nouakchott, and the important and sensitive issues it raised that serve to enhance security, peace, and the spirit of tolerance among human beings.

For his part, His Excellency the Secretary General thanked His Excellency the Minister for the warm reception filled with feelings of love and appreciation, noting the strength of the fraternal and friendly relationship that he has had with His Excellency for years, and expressing his great gratitude and supreme appreciation to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the leadership and people, for their continuous support of the Academy and all the organs of the Organization in order to enhance the spirit of joint Islamic work and fraternal and constructive cooperation between the states of the Organization. His Excellency also expressed his congratulations to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum on the success of the Second African Conference for the Promotion of Peace, and the importance of the recommendations issued by the conference, noting that holding this conference in Nouakchott confirms the success of the blessed Mauritanian model in combating extremism, fanaticism and terrorism through sober and effective security and intellectual approaches, that have paid off, and deserve to be praised and used in many places around the world.

His Excellency concluded his speech by expressing his aspiration to establish strategic partnerships between the Academy and the scientific, diplomatic, and religious institutions in Mauritania, especially on issues and questions related to strengthening religious diplomacy by providing workers in the diplomatic sector with all the information related to how to correct the stereotype that is attached to Islam from time to time.

The meeting was attended by Ambassador Sheikh Sayed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Al-Salik, Director of the League of Arab Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the General Directorate of Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry, and Mr. Amjad Al-Mansi, Head of the Protocol Division at the Academy.