Egypt and Mauritania have taken concrete steps to deepen bilateral healthcare cooperation, with senior officials from both nations meeting to discuss a broad agenda covering medical training, pharmaceutical collaboration, preventive healthcare, and medical tourism. The talks were held between Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, and Mauritania’s Ambassador to Egypt, El Houssein Ould Sidi Abdallah.
According to an official statement released by Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population, Minister Abdel Ghaffar reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to strengthening its healthcare partnership with Mauritania through the exchange of expertise, capacity-building initiatives, and technical support spanning a wide range of medical fields. Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar confirmed that the discussions reviewed progress on existing cooperation programmes and assessed opportunities for expanding collaboration in professional training, skills development, and specialised consultancy services.
A notable outcome of the meeting was the focus on pharmaceutical collaboration between the two countries. Abdel Ghaffar directed ministry officials to organise a dedicated visit for the Mauritanian delegation to the Arab Company for Drug Industries and Medical Appliances (ACDIMA), providing them first-hand exposure to Egypt’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and regulatory framework. This move is seen as a direct step toward enabling Mauritania to benefit from Egypt’s established pharmaceutical infrastructure.
The meeting also covered preventive healthcare, with both sides examining how Mauritania could draw on Egypt’s experience in disease prevention, public health management, and healthcare system governance.
Medical tourism featured prominently as another area of focus in the Egypt-Mauritania healthcare discussions. Both delegations reviewed practical mechanisms to facilitate the treatment of Mauritanian patients in Egyptian hospitals and specialised medical centres. Beyond patient referrals, the two sides explored the possibility of deploying Egyptian cardiologists to hospitals in Mauritania, a step aimed at building local medical capacity and enabling the transfer of specialised expertise directly to Mauritanian healthcare facilities.
Ambassador Ould Sidi Abdallah expressed appreciation for Egypt’s continued support to Mauritania, commending the progress achieved by Egypt’s healthcare sector and acknowledging its role in supporting Arab and African nations through medical cooperation and expertise-sharing initiatives.
The meeting brought together a senior cross-ministerial delegation on the Egyptian side, including Deputy Minister of Health Amr Kandil, Adviser to the Minister for International Health Relations Mohamed Gad, Director-General of International Health Relations Susan Zanaty, and officials from the Mauritanian Embassy in Cairo. The breadth of representation underscored the significance both governments place on advancing this healthcare partnership.
The Egypt-Mauritania healthcare discussions align with Egypt’s wider strategy of expanding healthcare partnerships across Africa and the Arab world, with particular emphasis on medical training, pharmaceutical production, healthcare services delivery, and technical cooperation with partner nations.
