Dakar – Senegal and the U.S. have signed a defence agreement to intensify cooperation against epidemics, as well as terrorist attacks, the U.S. Embassy in Dakar said on Tuesday.
The agreement reflects the nations’ shared interests, including regular joint military training exercises, but also the ability to respond to crises, whether outbreak of disease, natural disaster or terrorist attack.
The Embassy statement noted that the agreement would cover the use of Senegalese facilities to transport U.S. troops, health workers and supplies to Liberia during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
The Senegalese Foreign Minister, Mankeur Ndiaye, said the agreement was expected to facilitate the presence of U.S. troops in Senegal, after it had been signed with U.S. Ambassador, James Zumwalt.
He said “the agreement is aimed at strengthening the defence relations between the two parties and address the common security threats in the region.”
Describing Senegal as one of America’s important partners in West Africa, Zumwalt said West Africa had become increasingly targeted by Islamist terrorist groups in the last few years. (dpa/NAN)
