(L-R, starting 3rd from left) HRH Prince Guillaume; Franz Fayot, Luxembourg's Economy Minister; Dr Xavier Berthet, Institut Pasteur de Dakar; Georges Ternes, Luxembourg Ambassador to Dakar; Igor Wajnsztok, LuxDev; Credit: MECO

From Wednesday 22 to Saturday 25 February 2023, His Royal Highness Prince Guillaume, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, took part in an economic mission to Senegal.

The aim of this visit, according to Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy, was to strengthen economic relations between the two countries and in particular to deepen the ties forged during previous visits to Senegal organised in 2016 and 2018. A business delegation, led by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and composed of about 40 people, particularly from the ICT, health technologies, civil engineering and construction sectors, also took part in this economic mission.

The official delegation was welcomed in Dakar by Aïssata Tall Sall, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad. Prince Guillaume and Minister Fayot spoke at a reception on the first evening, setting the framework for the economic mission and underlining the strong ties between Luxembourg and Senegal. Initially based solely on development cooperation, these relations have been considerably strengthened and diversified over time, noted the Economy Ministry. Prince Guillaume and Minister Fayot also spoke with the members of the economic delegation and their Senegalese partners.

The second day of the mission began with a bilateral meeting with Senegal's Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Oulimata Sarr. The delegation then visited the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, where discussions focused on the development and possible collaboration in the field of health technologies. Luxembourg has notably provided support to the institute in the context of the installation of a bio-bank meeting international standards with the commissioning of equipment for the medical cold chain of the Luxembourg company B Medical Systems.

A visit and exchanges subsequently took place with the Grow Academy, a social enterprise active in the training of young women who have dropped out of school in Dakar and its suburbs. The main mission of the Grow Academy is to foster digital and professional inclusion and to provide a systemic solution for the employability and empowerment of young women aged fifteen to 25.

The following day, the official delegation visited the premises of the General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth. This structure, attached to the Senegalese Presidency's General Secretary, has the mission of implementing strategies to promote the self-employment of young people and women by strengthening their technical and managerial capacities and to help finance their business creation plans.

After this visit, Prince Guillaume and Minister Fayot were received in audience followed by lunch by the President of Senegal, Macky Sall. The latter decorated the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg with the National Order of the Lion, the highest order of Senegal.

The third day of the economic mission ended with a visit to the Mamelles Desalination Plant, a sea water desalination plant under construction in Dakar. This project aims to improve the water supply and distribution network of the city of Dakar and to diversify local water sources. A local subsidiary of Luxembourg engineering companies is associated with this large-scale project.

On the last day of the economic mission, the delegation visited the island of Gorée, a place of remembrance linked to the slave trade, and attended the presentation of the construction project for the Centre de référence des métiers du numérique (CRMN), a modern infrastructure entirely dedicated to training in digital professions in Senegal.

Mamelles Desalination Plant visit (Credit: MECO)