Senegal’s President Says Talks With Putin to Make Start for Future Cooperation

"We will not be signing any agreements, but our talks will give us a sense of direction, future direction for our cooperation," the president said.

Sall stressed that this would be the first bilateral meeting between the two presidents; he had previously only met with Putin briefly in 2013 at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg.

"Of course, I will be glad to meet my colleague, President Putin, today," the president of Senegal said.

The president of Senegal, who has traveled to Russia to support his national team in the World Cup, is set to meet Putin later on Wednesday.

Education on Energy Sector

According to the Senegalese president, his country was interested in its people receiving an education focused on energy.

"Oil and gas have been recently found in Senegal, and, of course, the state of Senegal is looking for a place to send some of its people to receive education in that field … The education is a very important field … and some other issues will be discussed with President [Putin]," Sall said, asked in what areas Senegal and Russia should boost cooperation.

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He added that there were many promising areas where bilateral relations could be developed, and stressed that his country was mainly interested in technical fields.

Russian Investment

The President also announced that Senegal is open up its markets to Russian investment if investors show an interest in the opportunity,

"So if there are Russian investors who are ready to come to us then we will open the market for them," Sall said.

Sall remarked that Senegal was open for investment and that the government was ready to provide support to foreign investment projects in the country.

"Actually, the market of Senegal is also open. We are waiting for Russian investors in different fields and in the framework of the cooperation between the private and public sectors. After all, the country is open, and we have projects from foreign countries, which the government guarantees and supports," Sall said.

According to statistics published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in the World Investment Report 2018 on June 6, foreign direct investment into Senegal amounted to $532 million in 2017. This is a $60-million increase from the previous year.

Organization of World Cup

Sall also thanked the Russian President and people for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, saying that he was very pleased.

"It [the tournament] has been organized wonderfully. Mr. Putin and the Russian people should be thanked for that and congratulated on that. This is wonderful," the president said.

Senegal’s 2-1 victory over Poland on Tuesday was "the result of years-long work of the Senegalese," Sall, who attended the match, said. The president expressed hope that the national team would continue winning, adding that he would watch Senegal take on Japan this Sunday.