Erdogan using Mauritania to expand influence in Africa

Amira al-Sharif

Turkey moves ahead with its plan of expanding its influence in the Arab Maghreb and the rest of Africa.

This was why dozens of Mauritanian citizens staged a protest recently against Turkish interference in Mauritanian affairs outside the Turkish embassy in Mauritanian capital Nouakchott.

Turkey expands its influence in Africa by offering aid to African countries and launching economic projects in the same countries.

In July this year, Turkish fishing ships anchored at the Mauritanian coast and made illegal fishing activities that violated the terms of an agreement signed several years ago by the Mauritanian government and the companies owning these ships.

According to media reports, Ankara was implicated in illegal fishing activities, especially after the Mauritanian fishing sector returned to work at the end of June after the end of its biological recess.

This is giving rise to fears from the malpractices of the Turkish ships and the destruction of marine life in Mauritania.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tries to exploit Mauritania, using a fishing agreement between his country and the African country.

However, the agreement restricts the activities of Turkish ships to surface fishing. Nevertheless, the same ships never abide by these terms and are involved in illegal activities, according to Mauritanian experts.

The same experts accuse Turkey of trying to get a fish quota far larger than the one specified for it in the agreement.

The Turkish ships also tried to violate the ban Mauritania imposed on the entry of foreign workers against the background of the coronavirus. This engendered anger across the African country where social media users condemned the Turkish actions.

Activists in Nouadhibou, Mauritania’s second largest city and fishing hub, shared videos showing the harmful activities of the Turkish ships along the Mauritanian coast.

The activities, they said, are tantamount to a massacre of the fish in Mauritania.