Μinister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ statements to journalists following his meeting with the President of Senegal Macky Sall (Dakar, 23.02.2022)

It was a great honour and a great pleasure, first of all, to see the President this afternoon. President Macky Sall is the Chairperson of the African Union and a very important figure not only in Africa but in the whole world.

He has a great role to play as the President of Senegal. We very much appreciate Senegal’s huge importance in West Africa. And this is why we have opened here in Dakar, in Senegal, our first Embassy in French-speaking Africa.

We also had the possibility to repeat the issues on which we could develop our close cooperation, on issues that we have identified with my dear friend, Minister of Foreign Affairs Aïssata Tall Sall, this morning. Education, tourism, renewables, new technologies, our merchant fleet and navy, there are fields in which close cooperation with Senegal can be introduced and we can progress on those issues.

That is why I had the pleasure to invite my dear colleague to visit us in Athens. And I am so happy that she was kind enough to accept the invitation and visit us shortly. I had also the honour to convey to President Macky Sall the invitation of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, for him to visit us as well when his schedule permits it.

Lastly, Greece and Senegal believe in the role of International Law and International Law of the Sea, which both countries have signed. This is for us something extremely important on which we can build a great relationship for the future.