Diplomacy: El Malick Ndiaye seals a new parliamentary pact in Beijing

On an official visit to Beijing, the President of the National Assembly, El Malick Ndiaye, gave new impetus to parliamentary diplomacy between Senegal and China. Between high-level meetings with Vice-President Han Zheng and his counterpart Zhao Leji, this mission seals an unprecedented institutional partnership, directly aligned with the ambitions of “Vision Senegal 2050”.

On an official visit to China, the President of the National Assembly of Senegal took a decisive step in the consolidation of the Dakar-Beijing axis. Received in audience by Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, yesterday, Tuesday January 27, 2026, El Malick Ndiaye magnified, according to a press release from the National Assembly, the excellence of bilateral relations supported by the recent dynamic of the visits of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

This meeting made it possible to reaffirm Senegal’s anchoring in Beijing’s major structuring projects, in particular the “Belt and Road” initiative and the orientations of the Forum on Sino-African Cooperation (Focac). The discussions converged on vital sectors for the emergence of the country, particularly energy sovereignty and access to water, infrastructure, territorial development, modernization of governance and institutions.

The high point of the day was the meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Far from simple protocol formalities, this meeting led to a concrete desire for institutional rapprochement. The major announcement lies in the upcoming signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two Parliaments.

This agreement provides technical and financial support from the Chinese side to modernize the Senegalese parliamentary institution while promoting regular sharing of experience between elected officials from the two Nations. Through this Chinese journey, El Malick Ndiaye demonstrates that the National Assembly is no longer just a ratification chamber, but a leading actor in Senegalese diplomacy.

Ibrahima KANDÉ