Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty with Burundian Prime Minister Nestor Ntahontuye during their meeting on the side-lines of inauguration of Senghor University's new headquarters in Alexandria. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
The meeting came on the sidelines of the inauguration of Senghor University's new headquarters in Alexandria, with discussions focusing on African cooperation, development, and regional security.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Abdelatty and Niang discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and coordinate positions on African issues amid growing momentum in Egyptian-Senegalese ties.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Abdelatty with Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Niang during their meeting.
Abdelatty described Senegal as a key strategic partner for Egypt in West Africa and stressed the importance of enhancing political and diplomatic coordination between the two countries in regional and international forums.
The Egyptian foreign minister also highlighted the importance of cooperation on water-related issues, including addressing water scarcity challenges and strengthening cross-border cooperation, expressing Cairo’s interest in continued coordination with Senegal during its co-presidency, alongside the United Arab Emirates, of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, as well as Senegal’s current chairmanship of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW).
Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s support for Senegal’s development plans under its five-year programme and “Vision 2050,” voicing Cairo’s readiness to share expertise in infrastructure, energy, construction, irrigation networks, and land reclamation projects.
He also pointed to the growing role of Egyptian private sector companies in implementing priority development projects in Senegal and reviewed preparations for next month’s African Union Coordination Summit and the Alamein Africa Forum.
The two ministers praised the inauguration of Senghor University’s new campus as a significant addition to Egyptian-African educational and academic cooperation and an important platform for preparing qualified African cadres in development, management, and capacity-building.
The talks also addressed regional and international developments, with Abdelatty reiterating Egypt’s support for counterterrorism efforts in West Africa and the Sahel region and stressing the need for a comprehensive approach combining security and development to confront terrorism.
The Egyptian foreign minister also met with Burundian Prime Minister Nestor Ntahontuye, where discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations and coordinating positions on African issues of mutual interest, particularly in light of Burundi’s assumption of the African Union chairmanship.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron joined African and Francophone officials on Saturday to inaugurate the new headquarters of Senghor University in New Borg El-Arab City, Alexandria.
The inauguration was attended by Burundian Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo, Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, and African Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Mohamed Belhocine.
Inaugurated in 1990, Senghor University is a French-language international university that offers training in sustainable development in a global context.
In addition to the Alexandria campus, Senghor University has 10 other campuses in Africa and Europe, offering specialized courses to meet the needs of strengthening the development skills of specialists for Africa's development.
Named after former Senegalese president Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senghor University hosts around 200 students that are chosen after a selective competition involving more than 3,000 candidates from 25 different countries.
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