Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty said that President Abdel Fattah al Sisi and his Senegalese counterpart Bassirou Diomaye Faye have reaffirmed the importance of developing bilateral cooperation in all political, economic, trade, educational and cultural domains as well as in counter-terrorism efforts.
Abdelatty, during a press conference on Saturday 18/1/2025, welcomed visiting Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yassine Fall and her accompanying delegation, saying that the visit reflects the strength of the time-honored relations between the two sisterly nations.
“Egypt is proud to be the first country in Africa and the second in the world, after France, to recognize the independence of Senegal in 1960,” Abdelatty said.
“The 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sisterly countries will be celebrated, with an excellent opportunity to organize several events and exchanged visits to mark the occasion.
“We recall the historic visit of President Sisi to Senegal’s capital Dakar in 2019 that contributed to achieving a qualitative shift in relations between the two countries. We also appreciate the visit of Senegal’s former president to Egypt in 2022.”
Abdelatty underscored the significance of leveraging the solid historical legacy linking Egypt and Senegal that dates back to the close friendship between late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and Senegal’s first president Léopold Sédar Senghor.
He noted that a major African university in Alexandria governorate is named after Senghor.
The top Egyptian diplomat highlighted the friendship that was shared between late president Anwar El Sadat and former Sengalese president Abdou Diouf.
Abdelatty also shed light on the close friendship between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Senegalese counterpart Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
He said that he discussed with his Senegalese counterpart ways of enhancing cooperation, in the presence of Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Rania al Mashat.
The talks with Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yassine Fall tackled economic cooperation as well as bilateral relations, Abdelatty said.
Abdelatty and Fall agreed on convening the first round of political consultations at the level of foreign ministers shortly.
The foreign minister said that he will visit Senegal in the coming months, upon directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, leading a delegation of Egyptian firms to discuss ways of promoting trade, economic and investment relations.
The talks took up cooperation in the agricultural sector and cultivating new crop varieties, including wheat and rice to achieve food security for both countries, Abdelatty said.
He added that the discussions touched on cooperation in the logistics sector, linking Senegalese ports to the Egyptian ones and the prospects of establishing a shipping route and an air cargo route to boost trade exchange between the two countries.
The meeting discussed establishing joint logistics zones, Abdelatty said, noting that: “Senegal is a gateway to Western Africa, like Egypt which is considered a gateway to the African continent as well as East and South Africa.”
