YOG Dakar 2026: African leaders end their stay in Dakar
The President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, accompanied his counterparts from Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, from Guinea-Bissau, General Horta Nta, and from Rwanda, Paul Kagame, to the Léopold Sédar Senghor military airport on Sunday at the end of their stay in Dakar.
The three leaders took part in the Summit on Sport and Sustainable Development as well as the opening ceremony of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
Before the departure of his Rwandan counterpart, Bassirou Diomaye Faye spoke with Paul Kagame. The discussions focused in particular on regional and international issues, priority sectors of bilateral cooperation between Dakar and Kigali, as well as the growing place of Africa in the organization of major sporting events.
The two heads of state also expressed their desire to make sport a lever for education, employment and investment for the benefit of African youth. In this perspective, they insisted on the need to make Dakar 2026 a lasting legacy for the populations, beyond the Olympic fortnight.
The presence of several African leaders in Dakar, notably from Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Cabo Verde, testifies to the mobilization of the continent around this first edition of the YOG organized in Africa.
On this occasion, the Head of State expressed his gratitude to his counterparts for their presence, which he presented as a mark of brotherhood and African solidarity, consistent with the diplomacy of trust and good neighborliness led by Senegal.
