Türkiye and Senegal sign cooperation agreements and protocols in areas including security
Türkiye and Senegal signed four cooperation agreements and protocols in various fields on Thursday, marking the five-day visit of Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to Türkiye.
In Ankara, in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement and a protocol amending the cash assistance implementation protocol signed on January 28, 2020.
Following bilateral talks between Erdoğan and Sonko, and a meeting at the delegation level, the two countries signed a cooperation agreement in the field of joint production of films, audiovisual media, and multimedia.
The two sides signed an executive protocol for a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of higher education between the Turkish Council of Higher Education and the Senegalese Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation for the years 2025 to 2028.
During a joint press conference with the Turkish president, Sonko said that Senegalese-Turkish relations are strategic and constantly evolving, stressing that his country is ready to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal of raising trade exchange to $1 billion.
He added that relations between the two countries go back a long way and are characterized by warmth and friendship, noting that “Türkiye’s first embassy in West Africa was opened in Senegal”.
For his part, the Turkish president said his discussions with Sonko covered opportunities for cooperation in various fields, primarily investment and trade, as well as security, defense industries, counterterrorism, energy, mining, transportation, agriculture, and marine fishing.
Erdoğan added that he hopes to increase the volume of trade between the two countries to one billion dollars in the first phase, explaining that Türkiye has about 100 companies operating in Senegal.
He expressed his willingness to share the expertise of Turkish companies with Senegal within the framework of Senegal’s National Transformation Program 2050, and his openness to exchanging information and expertise through specialized institutions in the public sector.
Sonko’s visit to Türkiye comes months after President Bassirou Diomaye Afai visited the country and held talks with his counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On the occasion of the visit, the two countries signed five agreements, and the two presidents signed a protocol establishing a high-level strategic cooperation council.
