Vice President raises concern for four Indian nationals detained in Senegal, signs three MoUs

Dakar, June 3: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu reviewed the progress in the relationship between India and Senegal during a meeting with the President of Senegal, Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace in Dakar on Wednesday (local time). This is the first-ever high-level Indian visit to Senegal and is taking place at a time when both countries are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations.

 

In the capital city of Dakar, Naidu led delegation-level talks with the President of Senegal, Macky Sall and assured Senegal of India's continued commitment to support the socio-economic development of Senegal through all means, bilateral, regional, and international frameworks.

 

During these talks, three MoUs were signed by both sides to further deepen their bilateral partnership in various areas. The first MoU pertains to visa-free regime for Diplomatic and Official passport holders which would strengthen cooperation between the two countries through seamless travel of officials/diplomats.

 

Second agreement relates to renewal of Cultural Exchange Progarmme (CEP) for the period 2022-26. Appreciating the richness of Indian and Senegalese culture, Shri Naidu expressed confidence that with the renewal of the CEP, there will be more cultural exchanges, thereby strengthening our people-to-people contacts.

 

Third MoU seeks to enhance bilateral cooperation in youth matters. Recognizing that both India and Senegal have relatively young population, the Vice President expressed confidence that this MoU will be mutually beneficial to our two countries through sharing of information, knowledge and good practices, and youth exchanges.

 

The Vice President expressed happiness over the fact that Indo-Senegalese trade saw a 37% increase to US$ 1.5 billion during last one year despite Covid-19 pandemic. He also called for diversifying our trade basket, particularly in the sectors of Agriculture, Oil & Gas, Health, Railways, Mining, Defence, green energy etc. Thanking Senegal for becoming a member of the International Solar Alliance, the Vice President said that India looks forward to working closely with Senegal within ISA and One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative.

 

Reiterating that India is committed to being a reliable partner of Senegal in its march towards development, Shri Naidu announced that Phase II of the up-gradation of Entrepreneurial Training & Development Centre (CEDT) at Dakar was approved and its implementation would commence soon. It may be noted that CEDT was set up in Dakar in 2002 under Indian grant assistance and every year around 1000 youth, though mainly from Senegal, but many also from 19 other African countries, get trained in six different disciplines at the Centre.

 

During the talks, the Vice President also took up the issue of four Indian nationals, crew members of ship M.V. Asso-6, who are detained in Senegal since June 2021 on alleged drug trafficking charges and requested the Senegalese government to expedite their trial so that if released, they could return to their anxious families.