While the Sahel plunges into a reconfiguration of alliances following the withdrawal of French troops from several countries in the region, Spain has decided to accelerate its particular diplomatic offensive in Mauritania. The meeting held this Monday between Mauritania’s Minister of Defense, Hanenna Ould Sidi, and Spanish Ambassador Pablo Bárbara Gómez is not just another protocol procedure; it is confirmation that Madrid considers Nouakchott its most critical piece in the security chessboard of West Africa. There have been details: the University of Las Palmas has sent materials to the main Mauritanian university with the Spanish Navy. The meeting at the Mauritanian Ministry of Defense, attended by the Secretary General and the Director of Foreign Relations of Defense, underscores a cooperation that already transcends rhetorical discourse. Spain seeks to strengthen Mauritania’s operational capabilities at a time of maximum regional tension. However, Madrid is not alone in this courting. Last week, Mauritania’s Foreign Minister, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, separately received the Spanish ambassador and his Chinese counterpart, Tang Zhongdong. This diplomatic duality highlights Mauritania’s role as the new hinge state of the Atlantic: a country that knows how to leverage its strategic value before an EU in need of migratory stability and a China interested in expanding its footprint in infrastructure and maritime resources. The cooperation has moved from offices to the sea. In January 2026, the coast of Nouadibú witnessed high-level joint naval maneuvers. The visit of the Spanish Navy’s Buque de Acción Marítima (BAM) Furor was the catalyst for a series of tactical trainings aimed at enhancing navigation security. Nouadibó is not an arbitrarily chosen stage. It is the epicenter of Mauritania’s economic activity and a hotspot for monitoring flows towards the Canary Islands. The exercises included visits to the Naval Academy and the First Military Region, sending a clear message: Spain is willing to be the main ‘trainer’ and technological ally of the Mauritanian naval forces. This alliance has a direct economic implication. Maritime security in the region is fundamental for the protection of commercial traffic around the African coast towards Europe since Mauritania is the necessary buffer to relieve pressure on the Canary Route, an issue that influences Spain’s domestic policy and EU funding flows to the continent. And strengthening military ties with a NATO country (via Spain) ensures that the southern flank of the Alliance remains within the sphere of Western influence. The Mauritanian Army has confirmed that these activities aim to protect ‘common interests’. This translates into a guarantee of investment: without security in Nouadibó and Nouakchott, there is no development for the ambitious green hydrogen and fishing project that European companies plan in the area. Spain knows that, in the 21st century, defending its borders begins a thousand kilometers further south.
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