President Bassirou Diomaye Faye intends to rely on Senegalese “great men” to build a “strong consensus” at the national and regional levels.
In an interview with the Senegalese press on Saturday, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said he had appointed his compatriot Abdoulaye Bathily as special envoy for international affairs.
The 76-year-old renowned politician, historian and academic is a major asset for the 44-year-old Senegalese leader, who was chosen by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to mediate in talks with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), namely Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which have announced their withdrawal from the grouping.
“I was able to convince Professor Abdoulaye Bathily (to make him) my special envoy, not only for this mediation mission in which ECOWAS has involved me, but also for other missions for which I will need his experience, his respectability and his stature,” said President Faye, spoke to the local press on Saturday evening on the occasion of the 100th day since his accession to power.
Bathily, a former minister and presidential candidate in Senegal, served as the United Nations Special Representative for Libya from August 2022 until his resignation on April 16, 2024.
Having become a failed state since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, Libya is struggling to develop a political process in the face of leaders who “put their personal interests above the country’s needs,” the Senegalese said as the eighth person to hold the position.
Even before returning to his country, Professor Bathily “regularly advised” the fifth Senegalese president on his positions, Macky Sall’s successor said, noting that Senegal is a breeding ground for “great men” who fundamentally love their country.
“By relying on them, we can build strong consensuses at the national level, in the sub-region, but also at the international level,” President Faye stressed.
ODL/te/lb/as/APA