DAKAR: Dr. Serigne Gueye Diop, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Republic of Senegal, affirms the country’s keenness to attract UAE investments to the Senegalese market, which offers promising investment opportunities and guarantees for foreign investments.
Dr Diop, in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of a trade mission organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry to Senegal, said, “There are promising investment opportunities for Emirati businessmen and business owners in Dubai to invest in Senegal, as the ministry intends to implement eight industrial and commercial zones in eight projects, which will then rise to 14 zones, reaching 46 industrial zones and agricultural centres.”
He affirmed the presence of giant Emirati companies investing in Senegal, headed by DP World, the operator of Dakar Container Terminal, noting that the company will also invest in implementing the first phase of a deep-water port in the Ndayane area, 50 kilometres from Dakar with a s
ea depth of 18 metres, at a cost estimated at about $1.1 billion. This will be the largest development of its kind in the West Africa.
He explained that the agreement signed by DP World to invest in this port includes the construction and licencing of the port and its special economic zone on an area of 1,200 hectares, making Senegal an international logistics centre and enhancing its attractiveness and trade exchanges with the rest of the world.
He pointed out that the development of the air route between Dubai and Dakar, operated by Emirates Airline with five weekly flights, has contributed to strengthening trade relations and increasing trade opportunities between the two countries by facilitating the movement of businessmen.
The Minister of Industry and Commerce in Senegal indicated that the Senegalese economy relies mainly on sectors such as agriculture, fishing, mining industries, and services, in addition to oil and gas, which will start to be exploited later this year. Senegal also has a modern roa
d network, including toll roads, and infrastructure Marine and air according to international standards, railways including modern generation trains with the regional express train, in addition to a high-quality digital infrastructure with four fiber optic submarine cables connecting Senegal to the rest of the world.
He added that in addition to this infrastructure, Senegal has put in place an attractive legal environment for investors by reviewing the general tax law and the investment law, which grants tax incentives that are commensurate with the needs of companies, as well as equipping special economic zones in Dakar and Thiès to facilitate the spread of Senegalese and foreign companies seeking to expand their business in our country.
Source: Emirates News Agency