German President Steinmeier on official visit to Senegal

Published on : 21/02/2022 – 02:35

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, re-elected a week ago for a second term, is making an official trip from Sunday evening to Wednesday in Senegal. The Head of State is accompanied by a delegation of economic and cultural officials for this visit devoted beyond the host country to the region.

With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibault

It is the second time that a German president has visited Senegal and it is Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s first trip abroad since his re-election a week ago. The Head of State has a very busy program for these three days.

He will meet President Macky Sall and the President of the National Assembly on Monday. The situation in Senegal but also in the region will be on the program of the discussions. A meeting with personalities from civil society is also planned.

Tuesday Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet experts from the Sahel and more particularly from Mali. After the announced departure of the French troops, the presence of the Bundeswehr arises. In Bargny, the German president will meet German soldiers on site specialized in defense once morest explosive ordnance.

This visit also has an economic dimension with a German delegation which will meet Senegalese officials. During a visit to the Pasteur Institute in Dakar on Tuesday, the future vaccine production site with the German company BioNTech will be discussed. Frank-Walter Steinmeier will lay the foundation stone of the new Goethe Institute in Dakar on Monday, built with African materials by Burkinabe architect Francis Kéré who lives in Germany.