Ousmane Sonko and El Moctar Ould Djay for more economic and pharmaceutical sovereignty January 10, 2026

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and his Mauritanian counterpart, El Moctar Ould Djay, on an official visit to Senegal, visited the Carrefour medical industrial site in Pout (Thiès) yesterday and Friday. An entity specialized in the production of consumables for dialysis. Then, head to Môle 8 of the Autonomous Port of Dakar (Pad) to see the gas terminal construction site. These two projects symbolize, in their eyes, the need to work to strengthen energy and pharmaceutical sovereignty, for endogenous development.

The second day of the official visit of the Prime Minister of Mauritania, El Moctar Ould Djay, to Dakar was placed under the seal of economic and energy sovereignty as the basis of cooperation between Senegal and Mauritania. Accompanied by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, he visited, yesterday, Friday January 9, the industrial unit of Carrefour Médical located in the locality of Pout (Thiès). This entity, specialized in the production of consumables for dialysis, with a capacity of 10 million liters of concentrated acids per year, supplies the entire sub-region.

The second stage of their visit took them to the construction site of the Elton group’s gas terminal located at Môle 8 of the Autonomous Port of Dakar (Pad). On site, Abdoulahi Kane, Director of Operations, indicated that this 138 billion FCFA project, the result of a partnership between the said company and the State of Senegal, aims to reach a capacity of 140,000 m3 of treated gas. According to him, the construction of this gas terminal for the reception, storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will make it possible to support the “Gas to Power” project with a pipeline to supply the Bel-Air power plant, in order to support Senegal’s energy autonomy by the end of 2026. For the Mauritanian Prime Minister, these two projects reflect Senegal’s desire to build an endogenous economy.

“We welcome these two projects carried out 100% by Senegal with the ambition of also benefiting all African countries from the supply of liquefied natural gas”, rejoiced El Moctar Ould Djay, calling for “a convergence of energy policies with strong inclusion of the private sectors of the two countries”.

Ousmane Sonko spoke of the need to work towards more economic integration in the sub-region. “We must break the clichés that encourage us to always seek partnerships in Europe and Asia. We feel like we are doomed to work and grow together. In a world marked by strong competition, it will be difficult to envisage some developing without the contribution of other countries,” he declared.

The head of government added that this cooperation must serve to build a zone of shared prosperity throughout the sub-region. “Our natural resources, such as gas and oil, must be used to give substance to this vision of pooling our resources, such as oil and gas from Mauritania as well as iron from Sierra Leone, to be less dependent on imports. We must win the energy challenge to move towards the development of sectors such as petrochemicals, steelmaking…because without energy, we cannot develop and consolidate the economy,” he stressed.

Mamadou Makhfouse NGOM