Dakar — As Prepared for Delivery

I thank President Sall, for welcoming me to Senegal today.

I am pleased that Dakar is my first stop on the continent.  And I’m happy to have seen the President so soon after our last meeting in Washington during the U.S. – Africa Leaders’ Summit in December.  We laid a solid foundation during the Summit and developed a strong basis for further collaboration on a range of key economic issues.

The United States highly values our bilateral relationship with Senegal.  Senegal is a major economic center in West Africa and a key partner to the United States.

And, through President Sall’s chairmanship of the African Union over the past year, Senegal has been a leading voice advocating for the continent.

We had a productive discussion today about how best to meet the challenges both of our countries face, including the need for enhanced energy access and sustainable infrastructure investment to boost economic growth and prosperity.

President Sall and I also discussed how to advance the U.S. – Africa Strategic Partnership on Food Security ahead of the upcoming African Union Summit in February.

In addition to the challenges we face, we also talked about seizing opportunities to deepen our economic ties and work together to build a stronger and more resilient global economy.

Doing so is vital for unlocking the enormous economic potential of Africa in the decades to come.  And a prosperous continent won’t just benefit Africa – it will help to strengthen the American and global economies as well.  We are here as a partner and will help work for Africa’s success.

I greatly appreciate being able to travel to Dakar to meet with President Sall and for the opportunity to discuss how the United States can strengthen our partnership with Senegal.