Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye will travel to Paris on August 27–28 to speak at the Meeting of French Entrepreneurs (REF), organized by Medef, the country’s main employers’ federation.
His address will take place alongside interventions by French Prime Minister François Bayrou and Moroccan Economy Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui.
The visit comes shortly after Faye’s participation in the Tokyo International Conference on African Development and precedes Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s scheduled appearance in Paris on September 23 at the BIG business forum, followed by a Senegal-focused event at the French Senate on September 26.
These engagements highlight growing interest from French economic actors in Senegal’s new political and economic trajectory.
The high-level exchanges also come against a backdrop of strained relations between Dakar and Paris.
Senegal has recently overseen the departure of French troops after President Faye requested the closure of foreign military bases, calling their presence incompatible with national sovereignty.
Prime Minister Sonko has reinforced this position while pressing France to fully open its archives on the 1944 Thiaroye massacre, a long-standing source of tension. Despite these frictions, the upcoming forums signal Dakar’s intent to diversify partnerships while strengthening its appeal to international investors.
