The Malian government has sent a mission to Dakar to resolve a backlog of shipping containers at the Port of Dakar and strengthen trade relations between the two countries.
The delegation, led by Mali’s Shippers’ Council President Bakissima Sylla, is in Senegal to address the congestion and facilitate the flow of goods. The mission comes amid a period of increasing trade between the two nations, despite recent political shifts.
According to a 2024 report on foreign trade, Mali is Senegal’s top African trading partner, accounting for over half of all Senegalese exports to the continent. In 2024, Senegal’s exports to Mali reached 802.8 billion CFA francs, an increase of 8.6% from the previous year. Key products include petroleum, cement, canned fish, and various manufactured goods.
This robust trade relationship has continued even after Mali, along with Burkina Faso and Niger, formally withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2025. Their continued membership in WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) has helped maintain institutional frameworks that support regional trade.
AC/Sf/fss/abj/APA