Foreign relations of Senegal

[6] The French used Senegal's advantageous geographic location, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, to safeguard their interest in the trade of groundnuts (Schraeder and Gaye, 488).

This combative approach for western influence is underscored in the Senegalese constitution in clause four of the preamble: "must spare no effort in the fulfillment of African Unity".

One of the important strategic goals of Senegalese leaders was the integration and cooperation of Francophone Africa; a policy known as "la Francophonie" coined by President Senghor.

[13] The United States was one of the key supporters of the event, sending the largest delegation of performers, artists, and technician of any of the 43 participating nations.

At the same time, the First World Festival of Negro Arts was seen by many post-colonial states as neocolonial due to its connection to French concept of Negritude and cooperation with Western powers.

The United States contributed aid to Senegal, including for the First World Festival of Negro Arts, and maintained consistent contact with the country throughout the Cold War via its US Agency for International Development (USAID).

In 2016, both nations also signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement that would ensure joint-military training and missions in West African states affected by Islamic extremism and alleviate the need for more troops to be stationed in Senegal.

[19] Senegal has also supported U.S. military missions in Iraq (1991), Niger (2016), and even its own territory during the Ebola outbreak of 2014, through the auspices of the United States African Command (AFRICOM).

One of these programs is conducted by the United States Information Agency which help hold workshops and training with Senegalese news federation and reporters to increase the independence and power of the press in the country.

[20] The relationship between the United States and Senegal is often limited by the country's strong ties with France, preventing deep connections from forming without diplomatic conflict.

[22] Senegal is a Zone A member of ECOWAS since its formation in 1975 with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos and the largest contributor of troops in the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG).

The Trans-West African Coastal Highway was an ECOWAS project which made significant infrastructure developments that connected Senegals' Capital, Dakar, to other major cities in the surrounding region, such as Lagos in Nigeria and Nouakchott in Mauritania.

[29] ECOWAS militarily intervened in The Gambia in 2017 when Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh refused to concede after losing the election that year, abbreviated as ECOMIG and code-named "Operation Restore Democracy".

[33] The formation of the Federation reflected a desire to prevent AOF (Afrique Occidentale Française, or French West Africa) from fragmenting — the constitution writing process was led by Leopold Senghor and Modibo Keita, the first presidents of Senegal and Mali, respectively.

[11] In 1960, Senegalese and Malian interests conflicted when Senghor became a candidate for the presidency of the Federation and Keita responded by declaring a state of emergency.

[35] While originally consisting of 13 mostly Francophone West African nations including Senegal, the organization was integrated into ECOWAS, expanding to a total of 17 members.

[12] It was originally established as the Union Africaine et Malgache in 1961, with the support of France, for the purpose of greater economic, political, and social integration of French-speaking West Africa.

[37] Senegal remains a member of several of the institutions that were initially created by the Conference of Heads of State while OCAM was still functional, including the African and Malagasy Council on Higher Education (CAMES).

The objective of the organization is to ensure the proper management and shared usage of water resources in the Gambia and Geba River Basins across the borders of member states.

[39] The OMVG has become increasingly important in recent years due to climate change and conflicts between Senegal and Guinea-Bissau over water resources in the Geba river.

Particularly in Southern Senegalese region of Kédougou, the planned construction of Sambangalou Hydroelectric Development (AHES) on the border of Guinea would provide power and greater agriculture potential to the area.

[40] The goals of the OMVS are to promote the economic integration, development, and sustainability of the river basin which provides essential natural resources to member states.

[42] After the murder and expulsion of Senegalese farmers from Mauritania, troops from both countries were mobilized to the border and over 100 Mauritanians were killed in Dakar while the rest were expelled.

[44] An obligatory resolution mandated by the United Nations or a decree by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) may constitute an international commitment by Senegal.

[6] Thus, Senegal is currently working towards a structural transformation of their economy by implementing a form of economic diplomacy to strengthen regional stability and seize foreign markets (Zacchia et al., 2).

[202] In the years following independence, Mauritania's principal ally in sub-Saharan Africa was Senegal, although the two countries have espoused different strategies for development.

[119] Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Wade had a joint press conference along with a 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.

[225] Also the giant Iran-based automaker Iran Khodro established[226] an assembly line to produce Iranian cars in Senegal and dispatch them to the African markets directly from Dakar.

[227] In 2011, Senegal cut ties with Iran, accusing Tehran of supplying separatist rebels in the Casamance region with weapons.

Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic Co-operation Pact,[269] the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization.