Meeting with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye in Dakar

Received this Thursday 22 May at the presidential palace in Dakar by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Juliana Amato Lumumba continued her diplomatic tour of Francophone capitals. A long-prepared visit, part of the consolidation sequence ahead of the Phnom Penh Summit.

The 90-minute meeting focused primarily on the Francophone Visa project, one of the nine programmes of the candidacy. Senegal is one of the Francophone countries where the mobility of students, researchers and entrepreneurs suffers most from current administrative barriers.

'Senegal fully supports the ambition of a Francophone space of reasoned mobility', President Faye declared after the meeting — measured but explicit wording. The Senegalese presidency's statement praised 'the clarity of the programme' of the Congolese candidate.

This meeting fits into a regional dynamic: after Bamako in April and Abidjan in early May, Dakar is the third West African capital to host the candidate in less than two months. The next stop will be Nouakchott, in the first half of June.