Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye will make his second official visit to Spain this week

Eduardo González The Senegalese President, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, will make his second official visit to Spain this week at the invitation of King Felipe VI, following his visit in June 2025 to attend the Seville Conference on Financing for Development. During his three-day official visit, which will begin on Tuesday and conclude on Thursday, the Senegalese president will be received by King Felipe VI on Wednesday, March 25, and will be hosted by the King and Queen with a luncheon in his honor at the Royal Palace in Madrid, according to the Royal Household. Separately, the Senegalese president will meet with the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, sources at Moncloa Palace told The Diplomat, though they could not provide further details until the agenda is finalized. Separately, and as a prelude to the president's visit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will receive the Minister of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad, Cheikh Niang, this Monday, March 23, at the Ministry headquarters in the Viana Palace. According to a statement from the Senegalese government, the visit “is part of the desire to strengthen the Dakar-Madrid axis” and will serve to address bilateral cooperation, regional security, and economic collaboration. The presidential visit will include “high-level meetings with Spanish authorities to consolidate the historical ties between both nations,” the statement added, without providing further details. Wednesday will also have a strong economic focus. Faye will attend an event jointly organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the State Secretariat for Trade through ICEX, and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), where Spanish investors will be informed about the opportunities offered by Senegal. Faye will be accompanied by Abdourahmane Sarr, Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, and Cheikh Niang, Minister of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad. “Senegal is consolidating its position as a strategic point in West Africa, key for investment and business cooperation,” the Chamber of Commerce stated regarding the visit. “The meeting will provide firsthand information on opportunities in sectors such as renewable energy, infrastructure, agribusiness, water and sanitation, fishing and the blue economy and digitalization, health, training, and sustainable tourism,” it added. This is the second official visit by the President of Senegal to Spain, following his visit on June 30, 2025, to attend the 4th United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville. The previous visit by a Senegalese head of state to Spain took place in December 2014, when then-President Macky Sall traveled to Madrid for working meetings with King Felipe VI and the then Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. Queen Letizia, for her part, made her traditional Cooperation Trip to Senegal in 2017, from December 11 to 14. Subsequently, in December 2021, the Queen traveled to Dakar to inaugurate the new headquarters of the Cervantes Institute. The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has traveled to Senegal on two occasions. The first visit took place in April 2021, accompanied by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Cristina Gallach. On that occasion, Pedro Sánchez and Macky Sall reaffirmed their commitment to working towards “regular and orderly migration” and to fighting “clandestine migration networks.” Pedro Sánchez returned to Senegal at the end of August 2024, accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo; the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz; and the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla. During this second trip, in which he was received by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the two heads of state agreed to strengthen their bilateral cooperation through a joint declaration. In statements to the press, the head of the government defended circular migration programs, which he described as a “vaccine” against human trafficking networks and those who spread hatred and xenophobia. Faye expressed his concern about the “mass departures from the Senegalese coast” of migrants bound for Spain. “Since 2024, Spain, under the leadership of Socialist President Pedro Sánchez, has made Senegal and Mauritania key partners in the fight against irregular immigration from sub-Saharan Africa, in response to the increase in the arrival of undocumented immigrants on Spanish shores between 2020 and 2023,” the Senegalese press highlighted regarding Faye's trip to Madrid. “This visit by the Senegalese president to the Kingdom of Spain also comes at a time when Spain is intensifying its efforts to diversify its bilateral economic alliances on the African continent,” it added.

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