Mauritania–Morocco relations
Representatives from both sides initiated a series of low-level contacts that led to a resumption of full diplomatic ties in April 1985.Through the agreement with Mauritania, Morocco sought to tighten its control over the Western Sahara by denying the Polisario one more avenue for infiltrating guerrillas into the disputed territory.[1] Relations between Morocco and Mauritania continued to improve through 1986, reflecting President Ould Taya's pragmatic, if unstated, view that only a Moroccan victory over the Polisario would end the guerrilla war in the Western Sahara.Moroccan corporations are also investing heavily in Mauritania, such as Ittisalat al-Maghrib (Maroc Télécom), which in 2001 acquired a controlling share in the Mauritanian telephone company, Mauritel, at a price of $84 million.[2] The Moroccan Office for Mineral Research and Exploitation owns 2.35 percent of Mauritania's chief economic powerhouse, the National Industrial and Mining Corporation, which extracts iron ore and supports more than 5,000 Mauritanian households.