The agreement was signed by Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) President Mustapha Berraf and Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mah at the Olympic Museum in the Algerian capital Algiers.

It is hoped the MoU, signed in the presence of several Algerian sports federation Presidents, will allow Mauritanian athletes and coaches to take advantage of Algerian expertise in sports including football, shooting, taekwondo, karate and athletics.

"We are aiming for greater collaboration to strengthen the rapprochement between the two Committees and give impetus to Mauritanian sport and then to make Mauritanian athletes and executives benefit from the progress made by Algerian disciplines at the regional, continental and even international levels," Berraf said, according to L'Expression.

As reported by El Moudjahid, Ould Mah added: "Today, sports in general and high-level exploits require a lot of resources.

"The Government of my country, which has other concerns as well, cannot meet our needs each and every time.

"It should be known that since 1996, sport in Mauritania has practically no state subsidy.

"It is mainly thanks to the Olympic aids granted by the International Olympic Committee or FIFA, and some friendly countries such as Algeria, that our athletes can prepare themselves and take part in certain international competitions.

"As far as this agreement is concerned, we have targeted certain flagship disciplines in our country.

"We hope to extend this convention to other specialties in the future."