National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko at the Prime Minister’s Office on the afternoon of July 23 (local time), as part of his official visit to Senegal.

PM Sonko extended a warm welcome to Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-level Vietnamese delegation, while expressing admiration for the Vietnamese people’s heroic traditions, industrious spirit, and their country’s dynamic development and impressive achievements.

Hailing the visit as an opening chapter for a new stage of cooperation between the two countries, PM Sonko emphasized that both the President and the Prime Minister of Senegal pledge to bolster cooperation with Vietnam as a central pillar of Senegal’s South–South cooperation strategy. Recalling his memorable meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in June 2025, he affirmed his desire to visit Vietnam soon to explore concrete cooperation opportunities.

In response, the top Vietnamese legislator expressed his pleasure in visiting Senegal, a country rich in historical traditions, and conveyed his gratitude for the warm and respectful welcome extended by the Senegalese leaders and people. He affirmed Vietnam’s wish to usher in a new phase of cooperation for the development and prosperity of both nations.

On the occasion, Chairman Man conveyed greetings from Party General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

Chairman Man shared the outcomes of his successful talks with Senegalese National Assembly President Malick Ndiaye and applauded the achievements of the Vietnam–Senegal cooperation seminar in trade, agriculture, and investment. He noted that Africa is playing an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s foreign policy, as reflected in the series of high-level visits to the continent in 2025.

The NA leader emphasized that, with its agricultural strengths, Vietnam stands ready to work with Senegal on a comprehensive agricultural development strategy. He also expressed Vietnam’s interest in expanding cooperation in areas such as telecommunications and digital transformation.

He urged the Senegalese PM to instruct relevant agencies to facilitate opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises seeking to operate in Senegal.

Regarding future cooperation, Prime Minister Sonko expressed particular interest in the agricultural sector, proposing specific areas of cooperation such as experience in plant breeding, irrigation techniques, off-season cultivation, and training of agricultural engineers. He also affirmed that Senegal hopes to increase rice imports from Vietnam to help ensure national food security.

He welcomed Vietnamese tech and service firms to invest and do business in Senegal, highlighting the potential for both countries to serve as strategic gateways to West Africa and Southeast Asia, respectively.

He also commended the role of Vietnam’s National Assembly in promoting the people’s right to participate in governance, and agreed with Chairman Man’s proposal to bolster substantive cooperation between the two legislatures for the benefit of both peoples.

The two leaders also agreed on the importance of intensifyin cultural exchanges, noting that the growing popularity of Viet Vo Dao (Vietnamese martial arts) in Senegal serves as a testament to the strong friendship and solidarity between the two nations.

Following the meeting, Chairman Tran Thanh Man and PM Ousmane Sonko witnessed the signing and exchange of several bilateral cooperation documents. These included a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and Senegal’s Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs; an MoU on rice trade between the two countries’ ministries of industry and trade; an MoU on agricultural cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Senegal’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock; and a letter of intent on friendship and cooperation between Can Tho City and Ziguinchor City.

Vietnam, Senegal share strong foundation for boosting comprehensive cooperation

Samba Dang, Seventh Vice President of Senegal’s National Assembly, has highlighted the historic, cultural, and strategic foundations of the Vietnam–Senegal partnership in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the thresholds of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s official visit to Senegal.

NA Chairman’s visit to Senegal to deepen friendship, cooperation: diplomat

The official visit to Senegal from July 22 to 24 by NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man represents a watershed moment in nearly six decades of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, expected to bolster friendship and cooperation in a deeper fashion, said Vietnamese Ambassador Algeria and Senegal Tran Quoc Khanh.