The United Kingdom's Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, is set to visit Senegal this week to hold discussions with African leaders on the rising issue of food insecurity.
Mitchell's visit, which begins today, will focus on expanding British investment in African countries in an effort to tackle the problem.
During his visit, Mitchell will meet with Senegalese President and current African Union Chair, Macky Sall, as well as other key government figures. The two will discuss the importance of the UK working with African countries to grow their economies and boost food security. Mitchell will also sign the first ever Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Senegal, signifying the growing partnership between the two countries.
Mitchell will also see firsthand the impact of British investment in Senegal, including UK-funded projects that support women and girls and help build Senegal's vaccine production facilities. As part of the Dakar 2 Feed Africa Summit, an African-led initiative, the Minister will listen to African leaders speak about the causes of rising food insecurity and hear their vision for accelerating agricultural transformation, with the aim of maximizing the UK's impact in alleviating food shortages across the continent.
In a statement, Mitchell said, "Many Brits know Senegal for its world-class football team. They may not know that our partnership with Senegal reaps benefits for people in both our countries, delivering economic growth and tackling common security and health threats. We hope to deepen this partnership over the long-term."
He also expressed concern about the impact of regional conflict and climate change on food security in Africa, and said he hopes to hear directly from African leaders about the issues the continent is facing and understand how the UK can further support African countries as they face those challenges together.
Senegal is a leading, stable and democratic country in the region, growing in significance and influence, and the UK hopes to build a closer partnership and greater trade and investment ties over the long-term. Mitchell's visit will explore opportunities to expand UK investment in the country to make a real and lasting positive impact. The UK-Africa Investment Summit in 2020 announced 27 deals worth over £6.5bn from across Africa and £9bn worth of investment decisions.
During his visit, Mitchell will also see the impact of such investment to date, including a $1.7bn partnership between British International Investment and DP World, which features a new container port at Ndayane, Senegal’s largest onshore investment. The port will enable the creation of over 20,000 new jobs and help unblock barriers to greater economic growth.
Photo by no one cares on Unsplash
