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President Zuma has concluded his visit to the Republic of Senegal, undertaken at the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal.
President Zuma has declared the visit a great success.

“We have achieved our goal and a lot has been accomplished at economic and political levels during this visit. There will be a lot of progress going forward,’’ said President Zuma.
The visit was aimed at strengthening social, economic and political relations between the two countries, and was a first by a South African head of state.

The two Presidents accompanied by the Ministers held successful talks and agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as agriculture, mining, trade, tourism, higher education, training, scientific and technical research, and energy.

They also expressed their satisfaction with the dynamic military cooperation between Senegal and South Africa, marked by intensive exchanges between the two countries’ Armed Forces
The two Presidents expressed the wish for the consolidation of investments between Senegal and South Africa and, in that respect, welcomed the South African Department of Trade and Industry initiative to organize, on the side lines of the State Visit, a Business Forum and Technical Mission with the view to promoting contacts between the two countries’ public and private sectors.

H.E.President Macky Sall expressed Senegal’s wish for the continued involvement of South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), in the realization of the Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD) in Diass.

Similarly, he praised the interest expressed by South African public and private companies (IDC, Transnet, Lonrho and TMMF Holdings) to form a consortium and participate in the realization of the Dakar-AIBD-Thies Railway Project.

President Zuma and President Sall expressed the desire to strengthen cooperation between Senegal and South Africa in the domain of air transport with a view of making Dakar a hub to serve the entire West African region. To that end, the two countries agreed to pursue the establishment of a well-developed aviation maintenance service, capable of meeting the demands of this sector. In this regard, they instructed their Ministers responsible for this sector to undertake the necessary steps as soon as possible.

The two Heads of State expressed their satisfaction over the signing of Cooperation Agreements in the areas of Agriculture and Arts and Culture, and encouraged the two sides to finalise, as soon as possible, the draft agreements being negotiated. These include:

• Agreement on Economical and Technical Cooperation;
• Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion;
• Agreement on Energy Cooperation;
• Agreement on Environmental Cooperation;
• Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Livestock;
• Agreement on the Waiver of Visa Requirements for holders of official and diplomatic passports.

The two Heads of State stressed the particular importance of finalising the Memorandum of Understanding on the twinning of Gorée and Robben Island, taking into account their historic and cultural importance as well as the important symbolism of the two sites.
President Zuma visited Goree Island and visited the site where Africans were kept before being sent abroad as slaves.

“Every African needs to visit Goree and learn what Africans went through during the slave trade. It is the most inhuman act that can ever be visited by humans on others. The twinning of Robben Island and Goree Island will certainly enable the two historical sites to share experiences and best practices and will promote the tourism route between the two countries. The two islands will always have a special place in our history as symbolising the triumph of the human spirit over evil’’, said President Zuma.
President Zuma expressed South Africa’s support for Senegal's candidacy for the rotating non-permanent seat assigned to Africa on the United Nations Security Council, for the period 2016 – 2017, in the elections to be held in 2015.

As regards the African continent’s economic and social development, President Zuma, as chair of the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative, reiterated his full support to President Macky Sall in his capacity as chair of NEPAD’s Orientation Committee. In this respect, the Heads of State exchanged views on the progress of implementation of one of the key outcomes of the 5thBRICS Summit held in Durban, namely the agreement to establish a common Development Bank which would, inter alia, support infrastructure development efforts in Africa.

With reference to the situation in Mali, the two Heads of State praised the return to constitutional order in that sisterly country. They also shared views on the challenges related to the fight against terrorism in the Sahelo-Saharan region and in Africa, particularly in view of the recent tragic events in Kenya.
At the continental level, the President of the Republic of Senegal and the President of the Republic of South Africa expressed their support for the future mission of the African Immediate Crisis Response Capacity (AICRC) within the African Union.

The two Heads of State discussed the need for United Nations reforms, especially that of the Security Council reform, and the need for Africa to have a permanent seat. The Heads of State expressed their hope that peace and democratic order are established through peaceful solutions in Egypt and noted with satisfaction the agreement concluded on Syria's chemical weapons.
President Sall accepted an invitation from President Zuma to undertake state visit to South Africa.