India, Senegal agree to further strengthen ties in agriculture, health, defence

Dakar: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu reviewed the progress in the relationship between India and Senegal during a meeting with the President of Senegal, Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace in Dakar on Wednesday.

Naidu met the President of Senegal at the Presidential Palace in Dakar yesterday which was followed by delegation-level talks in Dakar. Both the leaders agreed to further strengthen cooperation in various fields including agriculture, health, defence, railways, energy and culture.

"Vice President @MVenkaiahNaidu and President @Macky_Sall of Senegal held tete-a-tete followed by delegation level talks in Dakar today. Reviewed the progress in our ties & agreed to further strengthen cooperation in agriculture, health, defence, railways, energy, culture, etc," Spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Arindam Bagchi said in a Tweet.

As part of his three nations tour, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Gabon on May 30 on his first-ever high-level bilateral official visit from 30 May to 1 June 2022.

Naidu will be in Senegal from June 1 to June 3. He will be holding delegation-level talks with the President of Senegal Macky Sall, the President of the National Assembly Moustapha Niasse and other dignitaries, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

"Our relationship with Senegal is also characterised by shared understanding on many issues, we had democracy and open society and those values are binding us. And this year Senegal is chair of the African Union and this visit assumes greater importance," Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Ravi further said that the main interest in Senegal in terms of trade is that the country holds huge natural resources, particularly phosphate, which is of great interest to secure a fertiliser supply from that side.

Secretary (ER) further said that the Vice President will also deliver a public talk at Universite Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), the biggest university in Africa. After Senegal, Vice President will fly to Qatar, the last destination of his African countries' visit.

Africa has a huge potential of joining collaboration in the exploration of Oil and Gas, especially in Western Africa, the MEA said.