NOUAKCHOTT, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, speaking to the Saudi Arabian newspaper "Arriyad", voiced the firm commitment of Mauritania to continue fighting terrorism.

The infiltration by the Al-Qaeda terrorist group in Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) into Africa's sub-region has brought Mauritania to the anti-terror forefront. The country is holding about 60 terrorists in the Nouakchott central prison.

AQMI was linked to a suicide bomb explosion near the French Embassy in August in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, the first of its kind in the country. Both France and the United States have promised aid to the countries in the region to fight the Al-Qaeda branch.

The Mauritanian president also said there is no relationship between frosty ties with Israel and the development process of his country.

"We do not have common economic interests with Israel and we do not share common borders at all. We have taken the decision to freeze the relations with this country because of clear objectives," he pointed out.

In March, Mauritania, one of the three Arab countries to have diplomatic relations with Israel and maintained the ties for more than a decade, ordered the Israeli ambassador to the northwest African country to leave within 48 hours.

Abdel Aziz declared a freeze on ties with Israel at a mini-summit of Arab countries held in Qatar in January, in protest against the 22-day-long Cast Lead Operation in Gaza, which ended on Jan. 18.

Responding to a question on the position of his country to the Western Sahara problem, Abdel Aziz said, "Mauritania will not intervene in the problem unless if it's a question of bringing the two different groups together."

On domestic issues, he said his government is working on a number of reform measures aimed at opening up the country for investment.

"These reforms that are still being formulated, are concerned mostly with issues of governance, strict management of public affairs and reforming of the judicial system," he noted.