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The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, ended his African tour with a Dakar stopover during which he assured the confidence of the United States in the strength of Senegalese democracy and signed memoranda of economic agreements.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Thea Ollivier
After Kenya and Nigeria, Senegal was the last stop on the African tour of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
This Saturday, he met economic actors from the private sector, before meeting with President Macky Sall, in Dakar. He signed four memoranda of understanding for more than $ 1 billion in US investments in Senegal in road infrastructure and public safety. An economic cooperation which the head of the American diplomacy welcomed thanks to the Senegalese model of democracy.
After starting his speech in perfect French, Antony Blinken continued the press conference in English alongside his Senegalese counterpart, Aïssata Tall Sall.
Before the China-Africa forum, Dakar wants to reassure Washington
Immediately, he set the tone, praising stability in Senegal, even if no democracy can be taken for granted, he later recalled.
« Good governance and the rule of law actually pay off for citizens in concrete ways, such as a resilient and inclusive economy, or a peaceful and pluralist society. Given Senegal’s leadership in the African Union, of which it will be president next year, in ECOWAS. Senegal is in a very good position to help advance democracy and security in West Africa and across the continent. Said the American.
While the forum on cooperation between China and Africa is being held at the end of November in Dakar, Aïssata Tall Sall wanted to be reassuring about the strong ties that unite Senegal and the United States.
« Is there a choice to be made between the United States and all the others? We have a sovereign diplomacy from which we exclude no one but also in which we have historical partners. We are not going to throw away the old ones for the new ones. We do it with everyone, each according to their interests, the main thing being that we can get along », Declared the Minister.
Finally, the US Secretary of State ended his stay with a visit to the Institut Pasteur in Dakar. The latter will produce anti-Covid-19 vaccines with the support of the United States, thanks to an investment of three million dollars.
We are also committed to helping and working closely with Senegal to increase capacities to produce vaccines because increasing local production capacities makes it easier to distribute vaccines and save lives. Even though we are working on Covid19, we know there will be other pandemics in the future. We must find ways to work together towards a stronger global health security system and thus more effectively prevent the risk of a new pandemic.
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State.
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