Senegal’s ex-President Macky Sall has been on a whistle-stop tour of Africa as he intensifies his campaign to replace Antonio Guterres as the next Secretary General of the United Nations.
After holding talks with his successor Bassirou Diomaye Faye in Dakar, Senegal while canvassing for support for his bid to lead the world’s biggest organisation, Mr. Sall made a brief hop to Banjul, Gambia on Friday and held talks with President Adama Barrow at State House.
A long-time ally of President Barrow, the former Senegalese leader exhorted African countries like The Gambia to rally behind his cause and demonstrate continental unity in the face of global affairs.
“As Africans, we must work together and focus our efforts on the key pillars of the United Nations: peace and security, human rights and sustainable development.”
President Barrow has assured Mr. Sall of Gambia’s unconditional backing in his bid to lead the UN.
He was accompanied by former Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo to Dakar and Banjul.
Sall, 65 faces stiff competition from three Latin American opponents namely Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile who was also a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Argentine diplomat and current head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica who currently heads UNCTAD.
Sall who led Senegal from 2012 to 2024, is the only contender among the candidates who had never held a UN position.
WN/as/APA