On June 1, 2024, a round table was held at the Maison de la presse in Dakar with the participation of several members of Senegalese civil society, including the Pan-African Defense League UMOJA, the Front for a popular and pan-African anti-imperialist revolution (FRAPP) and other political figures.
The theme of this meeting is: “The Alliance of Sahel States, a new platform for the regional integration of Senegal”.
During an in-depth discussion on the aforementioned theme of peacebuilding, security and subregional integration, the speakers drew important conclusions regarding the stability of the country in the field of security and the measures that the new Senegalese government should take to achieve the desired objectives.
For them, close cooperation with neighboring countries, including the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is necessary to maintain stability in the region. Security cooperation will contribute to the definitive eradication of armed groups and to the definitive elimination of the threat of the spread of terrorism in the Sahel.
According to Mrs. Oumou Cantone Sarr, Director of programs of the African Meeting for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO) African institutions contribute a lot to the development of Africa, but they face major economic challenges, including the creation of the new currency, regional integration. This is what pushed the AES countries to make it a Federation.
“Regional institutions should know that it is taxpayers’ resources that are at stake for them to exist. Therefore, they must work well for the safety of the citizens of each respective country,” added Cantone Sarr.
Senegal is considered a center of equilibrium in the economic future of the Sahel due to its geographical location which makes it a center of trade for most neighboring countries and one of the leading countries in the field of hydrocarbons and fisheries.
In addition, the statistics of the AES countries show GDP growth in the near future, so that the intense demographic growth in these countries represents the largest consumer market for the Senegalese economy.
On the economic front, Dakar has freed itself from its past with the new President Bassirou Faye and will become in the long term an effective ally of the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), to form a strong political bloc capable of achieving a rise in power in Africa and on the world stage.
