Dialogue with President of Republic of Senegal

December 2017

On December 13, JETRO Chairman and CEO Hiroyuki Ishige had a dialogue with President Macky Sall of Republic of Senegal in Tokyo.

Chairman Ishige stated his opinion that, while the number of Japanese companies interested in Senegal is increasing, there are still not many in the country considering its potential, and emphasized the importance of disseminating information on improvements in the investment environment toward Japanese companies. He mentioned the special economic zone (SEZ) developing around the new airport opened in the suburb of Dakar, which is also the largest airport in West Africa, as well as the ongoing negotiations over an investment accord between Senegal and Japan, expressing his hope that Senegal's business environment will continue improving under President Sall’s strong leadership.

President Sall stated that he was holding a series of discussions with Japanese companies with interest in Senegal during his stay in Japan, and stated that investment in the private sector through public-private partnerships is necessary to develop Senegal's economy. He also said that developing human resources in the fields of transportation and infrastructure; in addition to agriculture, processing agricultural products and energy; is imperative for the sustainable investment in Senegal, emphasizing that a concession method which has been implemented in the telecommunication field and other service industries for contracts with private companies would also be effective for an expressway project for installing toll booths.

Furthermore, as Senegal is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and designated as a contact point in the fields of energy, transportation and services, he expressed his hope that more Japanese companies including SMEs visit West African countries.