Council of Ministers of January 21, 2026: What to remember
The Council of Ministers was held on Wednesday January 21, 2026, under the chairmanship of Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, President of the Republic.
At the start of his communication, the Head of State mentioned the celebration of the 146th edition of the Appeal of Seydina Limamou Lahi by congratulating the Caliph General of the Layènes, Mouhamadou Lamine LAYE, and the entire Layène community, for the smooth running and success of the 146th edition of the commemoration of the Appeal of Seydina Limamou Lahi, held January 19 and 20, 2026.
CAN 2025 and World Cup 2026
The President of the Republic then returned to Senegal’s historic victory at the 2025 African Cup of Nations, won on January 18, 2026 in Morocco. “Through this sporting performance, the Lions have raised Senegal to the top of continental football,” he said, while reiterating “his congratulations to the national coach and the players for their commitment, their combativeness and their patriotism.”
The Head of State also praised the president and members of the Senegalese Football Federation, the administrative and technical management, as well as the Prime Minister and the entire Government, “in particular the Minister of Youth and Sports, for the effective support and the favorable preparation conditions granted to the national team”.
The President of the Republic asked to maintain the dynamic of performances, to improve the conditions of supervision, preparation and participation of national teams in international competitions, while instructing “the evaluation of Senegal’s participation in CAN 2025 as well as the national football championship”. He finally prescribed “the deployment of the Lions’ preparation plan for the 2026 World Cup”.
Protection of artists and promotion of culture
With regard to the cultural sector, the President of the Republic recalled the major role that artists and cultural professionals play in national life and instructed the continuation of efforts aimed at improving social security, professional protection and the working and practicing conditions of artists.
He insisted on “scrupulous respect for copyright and related rights, with the effective application of the remuneration system for private copying”, as well as “the sustained improvement of the Status of the Artist and Cultural Professionals”.
Recalling that culture remains an essential dimension of the National Transformation Agenda, Senegal 2050, the Head of State instructed the competent authorities to strengthen the quality of training at the National School of Arts and Crafts of Culture, to modernize cultural infrastructures, to consolidate the decentralization of cultural action and to ensure the achievement of a national cultural agenda.
He closed this chapter by emphasizing “the importance of holding the States General of Culture, Crafts and Tourism during the first half of the year 2026”.
Road safety: urgent measures expected
Addressing the issue of road safety, the President of the Republic indicated that the modernization of traffic plans, the renewal of transport vehicle fleets and road safety must remain priorities of the Government. Deploring the increase in fatal road accidents, he called for “the urgent implementation of additional preventive measures”, in particular the strengthening of driver training, technical controls and strict compliance with the speed limit for urban and interurban transport vehicles. To this end, he invited the Prime Minister “to soon hold a meeting to evaluate the implementation of the recommendations of the States General of Transport”.
Presidential agenda
Finally, the Head of State informed the Council that he had paid a friendship and working visit to Kuwait on January 12 and 13, 2026 and had taken part, on January 14, 2026, in the Sustainability Summit in Abu Dhabi.
He also returned to his participation, on January 17, 2026, in the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Republic of Guinea, Mamadi DOUMBOUYA, before announcing that he will preside over the solemn re-opening of the Courts and Tribunals on January 22, 2026 and the opening ceremony of the high-level preparatory meeting of the United Nations Water Conference on January 26, 2026.
