A Senegalese-French intergovernmental seminar is being held this Sunday at the Abdou Diouf de Diamniadio International Conference Center (CICAD), in the Rufisque department.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is accompanied in Dakar by a strong delegation made up of Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces, Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister for National Education and Youth, Franck Riester, Minister of Culture, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Secretary of State to the Minister for Ecological and Solidarity Transition, in charge of Transport, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Secretary of State with the Minister of Economy and Finance, parliamentarians, business leaders and several other personalities.

This meeting ''is part of the iterative and strategic dialogue, unique in its kind in Africa, between Senegal and France'', according to the Government Information Office (BIG), the government's official information body. Senegalese.

''Following the session of October 19, 2017 which was held in Paris, this seminar comes to densify the deep relations which bind France and Senegal'', underlines the BIG, adding that the Dakar meeting '' comes to reinforce the dynamism of the relations of multifaceted cooperation'' between the two States.

France and Senegal ''share a past imbued with mutual respect and active solidarity, but also and above all, a burning desire to make matters of development, governance, education, health, of peace, culture, equity and social justice.

Backed by the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE), the benchmark for Senegal's economic policy since 2014, the 2019 seminar ''consolidates a perfect convergence on the real issues and challenges of the hour and of the future, with as a nodal point, the concerted adjustment of a winning perspective on the Paris-Dakar axis around four (4) roadmaps: emergence of Senegal; education, training, health, sports and culture; mobility and migration; security and defence.

According to the OIG, ''these roadmaps will be consolidated by the signing of conventions and bilateral agreements which denotes the exemplary nature of Franco-Senegalese cooperation. And the convention of deposit of the saber of El Hadj Oumar is the most perfect illustration of it''.

To this will be added the cultural cooperation agreement (museum, cinema, artistic creation, etc.) and the allocation of financial resources to support the implementation of public policies, among others, indicates the same source.

France is Senegal's leading trading partner, underlines the BIG, indicating that trade between the two countries was around 911.7 million Euros in 2018.

Paris, which ''remains Senegal's leading supplier with a market share of 14.7%'' in 2018, ''is the leading investor in Senegal with 43% of the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI)''.

Subsidiaries of French companies and entities under Senegalese law owned by French nationals represent more than a quarter of GDP and tax revenue in Senegal, the BIG further underlines, noting on the basis of "latest estimates" that more than 250 companies French are present in Senegal.

''These companies employ more than 30,000 people. France is a strategic destination for many Senegalese (businessmen, entrepreneurs, students, etc.),'' said the news outlet.

He notes that in the context of student mobility, since 2015, the issuance of long-stay visas for Senegalese students “has almost doubled”.

France is also a major ally in the organization of the 2022 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, according to the BIG.