Relationship dossier
Mauritania
Senegal
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation on the Senegal River and shared gas development, against a history of serious border conflict
Mauritania toward Senegal
+40Mauritania cooperates with Senegal through joint Senegal River management and development of the shared Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas field. These arrangements support sustained practical engagement despite the history of the 1989 border conflict.
Senegal toward Mauritania
+40Senegal cooperates with Mauritania through joint Senegal River management and development of the shared Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas field. These arrangements support sustained practical engagement despite the history of the 1989 border conflict.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship has durable institutional and economic cooperation, notably through the Senegal River basin organization and the joint offshore gas project. This cooperation follows a severe rupture during the 1989 border conflict, making the relationship more complex than a simple partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Mauritania and Senegal have built durable cooperation around the Senegal River and the shared Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project. Their relationship has also been marked by the severe 1989 border conflict, followed by restoration of diplomatic relations. The pattern is one of substantial practical cooperation alongside a history of serious tension.
Areas of tension
- The 1989 border conflict and its aftermath, including displacement and repatriation.
Key developments
Mauritania and Senegal became founding members of the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River, establishing a framework for joint river management.
A severe border conflict between Mauritania and Senegal led to widespread displacement and a rupture in relations.
The two governments agreed to develop the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim offshore gas field as a shared project.
Major uncertainties
- The current scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation beyond the Senegal River and gas project are unclear.
- The extent to which the 1989 conflict continues to shape government policy is uncertain.