Türkiye and Senegal discuss expanding cooperation in trade and security

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko of Senegal held talks in Ankara to explore cooperation in trade, investment, security, the defence industry, and other sectors. The meeting took place at the Presidential Complex and included a têtae-à-têtae between the leaders, followed by discussions between their delegations and the signing of cooperation documents.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Erdoğan said, “Our relations with the friendly and brotherly Senegal, which has a key role in the continent of Africa, keep improving. During the talks we have held today, we have addressed with Mr Sonko opportunities for cooperation in the areas of particularly investment and trade as well as security, the defence industry, the anti-terror fight, energy, mining, transportation, agriculture and fishery.”

Erdoğan noted that Türkiye aims to increase trade volume with Senegal to 1 billion dollars in the first stage. “Our nearly 100 companies operate in Senegal. The total value of the investments our companies have made and the contracting projects they have undertaken in Senegal has neared 3 billion dollars,” he said. He added that Turkish firms are ready to share their experience as part of Senegal’s National Transformation Agenda “Senegal 2050”.

On security and defence cooperation, Erdoğan said, “We are pleased about the increasing interest of our African brothers and sisters in Turkish defence products. We want to further strengthen our solidarity in this field in the upcoming period. I also thank Senegalese officials for the support they provide to our fight against FETO.”