After Nouakchott today, President Diomaye Faye will also travel to Banjul on Saturday to strengthen these two diplomatic axes, where relations are further densified by sustained economic policies that nothing can undermine.There is gas, and bridges have been built to ensure territorial continuity with neighbouring countries.

In diplomacy, this is known as good neighbourly diplomacy. Bassirou Diomaye Faye is today visiting Nouakchott, which is becoming Dakar’s most important and strategic partner. Following the discovery by Kosmos Energy of a major gas field on the border between the two countries, the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (Gta). It has become a powerful symbol of the great economic partnership between Mauritania and Senegal, who have successfully negotiated the terms of agreements for the development of the field, the first m3 of which are expected by December 2024.

Beyond the hugs and warm handshakes at Nouakchott airport between Presidents Faye and Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, the aim will be to intensify relations between the two countries, which turned the dark page in their ties several decades ago. Also on the agenda for Wednesday’s discussions will be the issue of fishing, which often causes minor problems between the Mauritanian coastguard and Senegalese fishermen who seek out areas with better fish stocks. Even though not everything has been settled – the discussions were lengthy – a new agreement on fishing was signed by the former Minister of Fisheries and the Maritime Economy on Monday 8 January 2024 in Saint-Louis, when 500 fishing licences were handed over to the fishermen of the Langue de Barbarie. This agreement follows the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Senegal and Mauritania on 21 July 2023. In detail, these licences will enable fishermen from Saint-Louis to catch 50,000 tonnes of pelagic fish in Mauritanian waters.

Diomaye Outings: Step by Step Towards Sobriety

The bridges of the future have already been built between the two countries. But the most important bridge, which will link the two Rosso towns, spans the Senegal River, at a total cost of 26.7 billion CFA francs, co-financed by the African Development Bank (ADB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union (EU) and the governments of Mauritania and Senegal. Clearly, the construction of a bridge over the Senegal River at Rosso will promote the introduction of measures to facilitate transport, trade and goods between the two banks, the development of transport activities along the Tangier-Lagos and Algiers-Dakar trans-African corridors and between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the project will help to considerably reduce the crossing time previously operated by a ferry that only runs at certain times.

Integration and neighbourly relations

To avoid compartmentalisation, the same type of bridge was built across the River Gambia to support the same sub-regional integration projects. Under Macky Sall, Banjul, Nouakchott and Dakar have succeeded in breaking down borders to create more integrated bilateral relations with no territorial discontinuity. The Faréfégni bridge has made a huge difference between the two countries, a situation also helped by the arrival in power of President Adama Barrow in December 2017. He was even invested in Dakar, which has been his « godfather » since he took office. At the instigation of ECOWAS, Senegalese troops were sent to The Gambia in the name of restoring democracy, after Yahya Jammeh refused to relinquish power following his defeat. Since 2017, Senegalese military forces have been stationed there, and officers from the Gendarmerie Nationale’s intervention group continue to provide security.

First Visit to Touba and Tivaouane: The Pilgrimage of Diomaye

As much as Nouakchott, Banjul is one of Senegal’s most important diplomatic corridors that the new President cannot ignore. After Mauritania, Bassirou Diomaye Faye will be travelling to the Gambian capital for his second presidential visit since being sworn in on 2 April to succeed Macky Sall. The latter at least understood the importance of the neighbourhood arc in diplomacy by putting all diplomats in the same boat. Those in Banjul, Nouakchott and Conakry had the same advantages as Senegalese representatives based in New York or Beijing.

Today, the new Head of State is keeping this identity, while waiting to see what changes are made to the diplomatic map. So far, Senegal’s diplomatic circle has remained unchanged: France, Morocco, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Although relations have been diversified with China, Turkey and other countries. What next?

By Bocar SAKHO / bsakho@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH / Serigne S. DIAGNE