[1] Ties warmed by the mid-1990s, including behind the scenes meetings between Mauritania and Israel in 1995 and 1996 said to be at the instigation of Mauritania's President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya[4][5] and the establishment of unofficial "interest sections" in the respective Spanish embassies in 1996 in the two capital cities.

[4] On 28 October 1999, Mauritania became the third member of the Arab League to recognize Israel as a sovereign state, after Egypt and Jordan.

[8][9][10] This official recognition was given by former President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya along with his cooperation with United States anti-terrorism activities.

[11] After the coup by the Military Council for Justice and Democracy in August 2005 that ousted President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, recognition of Israel was maintained.

[21][22] Following the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement in August 2020, Mauritania's Foreign Ministry said that his country trusted the "wisdom and good judgement" of the United Arab Emirates leadership for signing an Accord with Israel to agree to normalize relations, and that "the UAE possesses absolute sovereignty and complete independence in conducting its relations and assessing the positions it takes in accordance with its national interest and the interests of Arabs.