This article covers the diplomatic relationship between India and Senegal: the establishment of relations, visits and meetings of leaders and ministers in both directions, the agreements and MoUs signed, and the institutional mechanisms for dialogue. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief on India-Senegal relations of April 2026.

Establishment of relations

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, diplomatic relations between India and Senegal were established in 1961, with the opening of a resident Indian Mission in Dakar. The brief states that both countries "enjoy warm and friendly relations sharing common values of democracy, development and secularism". India and Senegal are both members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-15.

Visits and meetings: Senegal

President of Senegal Macky Sall visited India in October 2015 to participate in the third India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III). He visited again in May 2017 to participate in the 52nd Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank in Gandhinagar.

President Macky Sall and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met at the G20 Summit in Bali in Nov 2022. They had met previously in July 2017 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, and on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France, on 24 August 2019.

Senegal also took part in India's Voice of Global South Summits. President Macky Sall participated in the Inaugural Leaders' Session of the first Summit, held on 12 January 2023. Foreign Minister Mr. Ismaila Madior Fall participated in the Foreign Ministers' Session of the second Summit, held on 17 November 2023.

More recently, Mr. Alioune Sall, Minister of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, participated in the AI IMPACT seminar in New Delhi in February 2026.

Visits and meetings: India

Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu visited Senegal in June 2022. The brief describes this as the first State visit from India to Senegal in 60 years. Three MoUs were signed during the visit:

  • MoU on cooperation in Youth Affairs
  • Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP)
  • Visa waiver Agreement for diplomats and officials

The launch of Phase-II of the upgradation of the Entrepreneurship Development and Technology Centre (CEDT) in Dakar, built with Indian grant assistance, was also announced during the visit, together with offers of training for Senegalese public servants and diplomats.

The Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri V. Muraleedharan, visited Senegal from 3-5 November 2021 to co-chair the Third India-Senegal Joint Commission meeting. Two MoUs were signed during that visit: an MoU for cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine, and an MoU for training of diplomats. He visited Senegal again from 24-25 October 2022 to participate in the 8th Dakar International Peace and Security Forum.

Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, visited Senegal from 21-22 March 2022 to participate in the 9th World Water Forum. Besides attending the Forum, he met Senegalese Foreign Minister Aisata Tall Sall and Minister of Economy Amadou Hott.

On July 7th, 2022, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met his Senegalese counterpart, Mrs. Aissata Tall Sall, on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Indonesia.

Institutional mechanisms

The Agreement to form a bilateral Joint Commission was signed in 1997, and the first Joint Commission meeting was held in Dakar in the same year. As of the brief, three meetings have been held:

  • the first meeting in Dakar in 1997
  • the second meeting in New Delhi in March 2010
  • the 3rd Joint Commission Meeting in Dakar in November 2021, co-chaired on the Indian side by the Minister of State for External Affairs

The brief also lists among the bilateral institutional mechanisms an India-Senegal Joint Trade Committee, whose meeting took place on 5 May 2022 in virtual mode.