Peres in Mauritania

Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres held a work visit to Nouakchott on Tuesday lasted for several hours.

Peres who was received by Mauritania's President Mu'aweyah Eild Taye' upon his arrival, is the first Israeli official at that level to visit Mauritania since the inception of complete diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1999.

Peres also held talks with his Mauritania counterpart Dah Wild Abdi.

Mauritania's official sources said that Nouakchott will ask the Israeli foreign minister to work for "encouraging the path of dialogue and halting the sufferings of the Palestinians," in the framework of the peace process which will avail later the establishment on an independent Palestinian state.

However, strong security measures were taken on the occasion of this visit which was strongly criticized by Mauritania's opposition especially the party led by Ahmad Wild Dada which on Monday issued a new statement calling for boycotting diplomatic relations with Israel.