Foreign relations of Senegal

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President Léopold Senghor advocated close relations with France and negotiation and compromise as the best means of resolving international differences. To a large extent, the two succeeding Presidents have carried on Senghor's policies and philosophies. Senegal has long supported functional integration among French-speaking West African states through the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Senegal has a high profile in many international organizations and was a member of the UN Security Council in 1988-89. It was elected to the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1997. Friendly to the West, especially to France and to the United States, Senegal also is a vigorous proponent of more assistance from developed countries to the Third World.

Senegal enjoys mostly cordial relations with its neighbors. In spite of clear progress on other fronts with Mauritania (border security, resource management, economic integration, etc.), there remains the problem of an estimated 30,000 Afro-Mauritanian refugees living in Senegal.

Senegal is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).

Bilateral relations

China

From 1996 to 2005, Senegal maintained relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) instead of the People's Republic of China.

The Gambia

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Iran

As well as most of the African countries, Iran has close and friendly ties with Senegal as a major and powerful African country which is also an important Islamic country and one of the active OIC members.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Wade had a joint press conference along with a^[1] close meeting in Feb 2008 in the city of Mashhad, both side pledged to expand the bilateral ties in the fields of economy, tourism and politics in addition to increase the efforts for empowering the OIC.

Also the giant Iran-based automaker Iran Khodro established^[2] an assembly line to produce Iranian cars in Senegal and dispatch them to the African markets directly from Dakar. This Iranian-Senegalese company has the capacity to produce 10,000 Samand cars annually.^[3]

Mali

Mauritania

In the years following independence, Mauritania's principal friend in sub-Saharan Africa was Senegal, although the two countries have espoused different strategies for development.^[4] The growing split between blacks and Maures in Mauritania has, however, affected ties with Senegal, which sees itself as championing the rights of Mauritania's black minority.^[4] Under Taya, relations between the two countries were correct, even though each accused the other of harboring exiled dissidents.^[4] In May 1987, Senegal extradited Captain Moulaye Asham Ould Ashen, a former black member of the Haidalla government accused of corruption, but only after veiled threats from Nouakchott that failure to do so would result in Mauritania's allowing Senegalese dissidents a platform from which to speak out against the government of President Abdou Diouf.^[4] At the same time, Senegal and Mauritania have cooperated successfully with Mali under the Senegal River Development Office (Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal—OMVS), which was formed in 1972 as a flood control, irrigation, and agricultural development project.^[4]

United States

Senegal enjoys an excellent relationship with the United States. The Government of Senegal is known and respected for its able diplomats and has often supported the U.S. in the United Nations, including with troop contributions for peacekeeping activities. The United States maintains friendly relations with Senegal and provides considerable economic and technical assistance.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State (Background Notes).[1]

Disputes - international

short section of boundary with The Gambia is indefinite

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Senegalese diplomatic missions
• List of diplomatic missions in Senegal

References

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