Pakistan, Senegal agree to boost defence, trade ties

PM Nawaz, Senegalese president discuss defence, intelligence cooperation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Senegal have agreed to boost bilateral relations in trade and defence sectors as Islamabad is prepared to supply defence equipment to the African Muslim country which are manufactured in the country.

Pakistan also offered to cooperate in the fields of intelligence sharing, control of human & drug trafficking and capacity building in counter terrorism for Senegal. The offer has been made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Senegal’s President Macky Sall on Tuesday during his one-to-one meeting here at the Prime Minister’s House.

The Senegal president is currently on a two-day official visit to Pakistan. Senegal is a strong Muslim country of Africa that had earlier served as the chairman of the OIC. “We are happy to offer scholarships for Senegalese students in various fields of education and training in prestigious institutions of Pakistan. I welcome your decision to open Senegalese Embassy in Islamabad, which will further strengthen the bilateral cooperation between our two countries,” said the prime minister.

He called for boosting the bilateral trade with Senegal by enhanced collaboration in textiles, agricultural machinery and pharmaceutical sectors. The premier emphasised on enhancing the bilateral trade from its current volume of $30.469 million a year to its real potential.

The one-on-one meeting was later joined by minister-in–waiting Rana Tanveer Hussain. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged Senegal to benefit from Pakistan's products including leather and light engineering goods, and said a composite trade and investment delegation from Pakistan led by minister of commerce could visit Senegal in this regard.

The prime minister said that Pakistan was considering to open a Pakistani bank in Senegal which would facilitate trade and investment between the two countries. He recalled his meetings with President Macky Sall at the United Nations General Assembly session last year in New York and later in Saudi Arabia, where the two sides agreed to develop greater cooperation in diverse fields.

Nawaz Sharif congratulated the Senegalese president on the election of his country as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term 2016-17 and expressed the confidence that Senegal would play a pro-active role in protecting and promoting the interests of Islamic countries. He lauded President Macky Sall in ensuring democracy in his country following the general election of 2012 and mentioned his positive role in resolving the regional disputes.

The premier welcomed the decision of President Sall to open a Senegalese Embassy in Islamabad, adding that it would further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries. The two sides also discussed cooperation in the defence sector and defence procurement.

The prime minister and president of Senegal Macky Sall led their respective sides in delegation level talks. The prime minister said that in addition to existing items like textiles, pharmaceuticals and rice, Pakistan could also export leather and leather products, light engineering goods, agricultural machinery to Senegal. “A composite trade and investment delegation led by our Minister for Commerce could visit Senegal in this regard,” said the prime minister.

The PM said that Pakistan could extend technical support to Senegal for establishment of sugar and cement plants and could also help in promoting its agriculture sector.

Both sides agreed to enhance bilateral trade from its current volume of $30.469 million a year to its true potential. Presently Pakistan’s annual exports to Senegal amount to $29.433 million while imports are at $1.06 million.

Earlier, the prime minister welcomed the president of the Republic of Senegal at the Prime Minister House which was followed by one-on-one meeting between the two leaders. The prime minister felicitated the the Senegalese president on winning the referendum held in March 2016, which demonstrated the renewed trust of the people of Senegal.

The visiting delegation included Mansour Elimane KANE, Minister for Infrastructure, Oumar Demba BA, and Diplomatic Adviser to the President, Mrs Gnounka DIOUF, and Minister Counselor to the Presidency, Hamidou Samba KASSE, Minister Counselor for Communications and others. The meeting was also attended by Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to Prime Minster, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister for Defence Production and other senior officials of the government.