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Senegal has urged member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to strengthen efforts to promote and attract foreign investment across the region.
The call was made by Ms. Fama Fall of Senegal’s Directorate of Foreign Trade, Investment, and Development during a presentation at the ECOWAS Common Investment Market (ECIM) Technical Committee Council meeting, held in Abuja.
The high-level gathering was organised to evaluate the regional investment environment and encourage knowledge exchange on cross-border investment strategies among member states. It also aimed to explore policy decisions that could enhance both intra- and extra-ECOWAS investment inflows, thereby accelerating economic integration and development within the subregion.
Ms. Fall reviewed Senegal’s investment policy reforms over the past three years, including initiatives in investment promotion, facilitation, dispute resolution, and bilateral agreements.
She revealed that Senegal attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $2.58 billion in 2022, rising slightly to $2.64 billion in 2023, driven by targeted government policies.
She noted that Senegal’s priority investment sectors include agriculture, ICT, construction, health, tourism, and oil and gas — all of which offer significant potential for further growth.
“France remains Senegal’s largest investor, but we are witnessing a growing interest from new partners,” she said. “Investments are coming in from China, Turkey, the UAE, and countries such as Morocco, Indonesia, and the United States.”
Senegal currently has seven officially designated Special Economic Zones (SEZs), three of which are operational, with four others under development.
Fall also highlighted the country’s legal framework designed to enhance investment attraction and regulation. This includes codes covering mining, oil, electricity, customs, building, taxation, public procurement, and public-private partnerships. Additional frameworks referenced included the ECOWAS Common Investment Code, the Pan-African Investment Code, and the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment.
Senegal has signed bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with a broad range of countries, including Turkey, India, France, the US, South Africa, and Malaysia, among others.
Fall noted that the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Investment Protocol supersedes existing intra-African BITs, but agreements with non-African nations remain valid unless deemed inconsistent with AfCFTA provisions.
She also made several recommendations to ECOWAS member states, such as improving coordination and governance of investment policies and producing an annual regional investment monitoring report with statistical data on FDI flows.
Furthermore, Fall proposed enhancing transport infrastructure connections across ECOWAS countries and called for a resolution to institutionalise an ECIM ministerial meeting to coincide with the upcoming 50th anniversary of ECOWAS.
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