New Delhi, Jun 2 (FN Agency) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who arrived in Senegal on the second leg of his overseas tour, held talks with Senegalese President Macky Sall, during which both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, health, defence and railways among other things.Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in a tweet, said:“Vice President @MVenkaiahNaidu and President @Macky_Sallof Senegal held tête-à-tête followed by delegation level talks in Dakar today.Reviewed the progress in our ties & agreed to further strengthen cooperation in agriculture, health, defence, railways, energy, culture, etc.”Earlier, Vice President Naidu arrived in Dakar from Gabon.
He is accompanied by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar and three Members of Parliament, Sushil Kumar Modi (Rajya Sabha), Vijay Pal Singh Tomar (Rajya Sabha) and P. Raveendranath (Lok Sabha).“Vice President @MVenkaiahNaidu, accompanied by MoS @DrBharatippawar, MPs @SushilModi, @vijaypalbjp and @OPRavindhranath, & other delegation members, arrive to a warm welcome in Dakar, Senegal.“The visit coincides with 60 years of establishment of India-Senegal diplomatic relations,” the MEA spokesperson tweeted.With Senegal holding chair of the African Union this year, the visit of the Vice President assumes greater importance.VP Naidu will also meet President of the National Assembly Moustapha Niasse, and other dignitaries. He will also attend a business roundtable and address the Indian community.India-Senegal bilateral trade reached US$ 1.65 billion in 2021-22 and is growing rapidly.
India’s interest in Senegal is also that the country holds huge natural resources, particularly phosphates, which is important for India to secure its fertiliser supplies, Secretary ER Dammu Ravi said earlier.Capacity building under ITEC is also active with Senegal, and the Vice President will engage with the Senegalese leadership to “ascertain their requests and needs and we will try an accommodate that,” he said.There are around 2,000 Indians in Senegal and the VP will interact with the diaspora and also the business community there.He will also deliver a talk at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD, also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University, at Dakar, which is the biggest in Africa.India has offered a total of 16 Lines of Credit amounting to US$ 350 million and Buyer’s Credit of about US$ 305 million in various sectors. India’s capacity building training programs under ITEC are popular in Senegal. India and Senegal are celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations.