AA / Istanbul / Emirhan Yilmaz – Aylin Rana Aydin Kus
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said that cooperation between Senegal and Turkey is destined to further develop and strengthen.
The Türkiye-Senegal business forum organized by the Council for Foreign Economic Relations (DEIK) was held on Friday in Istanbul with the participation of Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacir, the president of the DEIK Nail Olpak, the president of the National Council of Senegalese Employers (CNP) Baidy Agne, the president of the Senegalese Investment Agency (APIX) Bakary Bathily and men and women Turkish and Senegalese businesswomen.
In his speech, Senegalese President Faye said that the forum was an extremely important opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the two countries and that there has always been a strong cooperation framework since Türkiye opened its embassy in Senegal in 1964.
Faye said that significant progress has been made between Turkey and Senegal in the areas of infrastructure, health, defense, agriculture, water services, education, energy, oil, sports, tourism, economy and trade, and that there is dynamic cooperation between the two countries.
The Senegalese leader recalled that successful and high-quality infrastructure projects have been carried out by Turkish companies in Senegal.
“I think it is necessary to further diversify our cooperation in this area and extend it to different sectors. Because Senegal offers extremely important opportunities in different sectors. Senegal really offers very important advantages. First of all , we have a stable country. Senegal has a very strong democratic tradition and our governance system is becoming more transparent every day. In this context, we have a much more stable and reliable business environment in our country. Senegal is very important. We are located at the tip of West Africa. In this context, Senegal is extremely welcoming and serves as a gateway to a market of approximately 300 million people in Africa. “In 2050, the population of West Africa will increase from 300 million to probably 1 billion people,” he explained.
– “Türkiye is a country known for its industrial dynamism and has great technological expertise”
Senegalese President Faye said Senegal offers unique opportunities to all investors and the country has extremely fertile land.
He recalled that oil and natural gas were recently discovered in Senegal.
“Our underground wealth is very important for our country. We are a very young and dynamic country. I invite Turkish investors to consider Senegal in all their projects. With your contributions, we can increase Senegal’s capacity and achieve a transfer “Türkiye is a country known for its industrial dynamism and has great technological expertise. There is a very dynamic network of investors in Türkiye and Turkish investors offer us extremely valuable support in our transformation.” -he said.
In this context, Faye shared the 2050 vision of Senegal.
“This is a national transformation plan, our transformation program will further accelerate our development journey. To do this, we have first prepared a ten-year strategic master plan which will run from 2025 to 2034. In addition , we are also working on a five-year program covering the years 2025-2029. All of these programs have different projects. These two action plans offer extremely valuable public-private cooperation opportunities for the private sector. food and the transformation of our existing natural resources Agriculture and the food industry have enormous growth potential in Senegal The development of the agricultural industry is a priority for the Senegalese government. our dependence on imports to transform our existing products and, of course, to develop more added value in this context,” he said.
He continued: “Turkish companies can certainly contribute significantly to the development of Senegal’s agricultural value chain thanks to their valuable expertise in this context. Secondly, the manufacturing sector, the textile sector, is extremely important, especially in Senegal. Senegal strives to accelerate industrialization in this context. We are creating special economic zones and organized industrial zones in different parts of our country. , is to provide opportunities to the private sector and foreign investors.”
– “We want to build a prosperous Senegal, Turkish investors can contribute to this”
President Faye said that Senegal has launched a very ambitious infrastructure modernization program, which constitutes the third theme.
“In this context, we want to build a prosperous Senegal and at this stage, Turkish investors can make a very valuable contribution to our efforts with their expertise known throughout the world, especially their experience in the field of public projects in the field construction. Our fourth area is energy. As part of the energy strategy, we are trying to transform the existing energy resources in Senegal and in particular to deal with our renewable energy resources. field of energy and renewable energies In this context, it can make a significant contribution to the energy transformation of Senegal, particularly in the use of solar, hydroelectric and wind resources.
Faye added that another area of the 2050 plan was tourism and that Senegal was working to increase its capacity to host international guests, with the aim of making Senegal an important tourist destination in the region.
“Our goal here is to support you and APIX, the Senegal investment office, is always ready to provide the necessary support to you, our valued Turkish investors. As Senegal, we have a program extremely broad incentive When you contact APIX, you can obtain information on the different incentives that our government can offer in this regard. Senegalese and Turkish investors, I invite you to strengthen cooperation between us. to develop new initiatives beyond the simple production of common products and the development of common services between our countries. As investors, you play a very important role in strengthening cooperation between Senegal and Türkiye. With your contributions, we can achieve a new framework that is beneficial for both countries. I am sure you will realize this when you join forces. Long live Türkiye-Senegal cooperation and friendship. concluded.
– Cooperation agreements signed
Cooperation agreements were also signed within the framework of the Türkiye-Senegal business forum.
Cooperation agreements were signed between the Senegalese Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock and Çalik Enerji, the Administration for the Development and Support of Small and Medium Industries and the Senegalese Agency for Development and supervision of small and medium-sized enterprises, DEIK and the Senegalese investment agency, DEIK and the Senegalese investors association, DEIK and the Senegalese association for strengthening cooperation between Türkiye and Senegal.
After the opening speeches and cooperation agreements, bilateral business meetings will be held within the framework of the forum.
*Translated from Turkish by Tuncay Çakmak
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