Senegal's president set to visit Azerbaijan by year-end

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is expected to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan by the end of the year, Senegal’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Georgia Moustapha Sokhna Diop said.

The ambassador said Dakar and Baku are preparing to intensify high-level reciprocal visits, beginning with ministerial-level delegations, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

“We are preparing for the organization of the Senegalese President's visit to Azerbaijan,” Diop said.

According to the ambassador, upcoming talks are expected to focus primarily on strengthening economic and trade ties, with particular attention to cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

Diop highlighted Senegal’s interest in Azerbaijan’s experience in the energy industry, following the discovery of significant oil and gas reserves in Senegal in recent years.

“We want to study Azerbaijan’s extensive experience in the extraction, management and processing of hydrocarbon resources,” he said.

The ambassador acknowledged that bilateral trade remains at a relatively low level and stressed the importance of more frequent official contacts to unlock greater economic cooperation.

“One of the main purposes of our visit to Azerbaijan and the meetings we hold is precisely this. We believe that, first of all, it is necessary to bring together representatives of the private sectors of Azerbaijan and Senegal. Entrepreneurs must know exactly what each country produces, what products and opportunities they have. Only after that can joint ventures be created and sustainable trade partnerships established. In short, we must build a strong bridge between our businesspeople,” Diop said.

He expressed optimism about the potential impact of President Faye’s planned visit on bilateral relations.

“Of course, after these contacts, we expect our bilateral relations to rise to a qualitatively new and higher level,” the ambassador said.

By Vafa Guliyeva