Megatrends Afrika (MTA): Mr Sall, do you think the German view of Africa has changed over the five years you have been here, and how do you perceive the German debate on Africa in general?
H.E. Cheikh Tidiane Sall (CTS): We can indeed speak of a certain evolution over the last ten years. I think this first became visible under Angela Merkel, especially with the launch of the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) in 2017. Before that, Africa was not really high on the agenda of the German government, at least not at the level of the Federal Chancellery.
So there has been a positive development on the part of the German government, which has also been reflected in high-level visits to certain African countries. As far as Senegal is concerned, I can mention the visit of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in February 2022. Three months later, we welcomed Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, not forgetting the visit of his predecessor in August 2018. For me, this is a very good indicator of Germany’s growing interest in Africa.
MTA: Do you …read more
Source:: German Institute for International and Security Affairs
