At the Portuguese Embassy in Dakar – covering seven countries and one million square kilometres of coastline, the Sahelian desert and located in a stable economic region where states share a single currency – 2020 started with good omen: two memorable months marked by the personal honour of having received the economic diplomat of the year award, high-level visits and the opening of a new Chancellery.

The remarkable efforts of our work team pointed to an ‘annus mirabilis’…

But the pandemic – the first global multidimensional stress test of lasting consequences – forced the Embassy to show its institutional resilience.

Concrete measures were nevertheless adopted in due time:

A consular call centre was created for the dematerialization of consular acts, specially designed for Portuguese citizens in the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Conakry;

The holding of virtual sessions of the new Economic Advisory Board of the Embassy, in conjunction with Eurocham and the Portugal-Senegal Chamber of Commerce, which was also there to reinforce contact with all Portuguese entrepreneurs in our jurisdiction;

The monetary value of the Economic Diplomat of the Year award was used in the development (using Portuguese technology) of a pioneer app focused on establishing bridges between entrepreneurs. “Unio” allows efficient matchmaking between Portuguese and Senegalese companies;

In the area of social responsibility, we joined “ColorAdd” and we are the first Embassy certified with its colour identification system for colour blind people, an innovative project that sheds colour on the lives of 350 million people;

As regards sports diplomacy, we hosted the first football tournament between Embassies and International Organizations in Dakar, the “Mourinho Diplomatic Cup”, generously sponsored by the “Special One”;

Intercultural dialogue is extremely important to strengthen our cooperative relations with Senegal and to this end a digital art contest was launched, with the participation and commitment of young Portuguese and Senegalese artists; within this framework we also promoted an urban art event starring the artist Krus (Sofia Cruz). We engaged also on the hosting of “Cuisine de la mer”, two unforgettable nights of Portuguese cuisine, led by the prestigious ‘Chef’ Rodrigo Madeira.

In the area of development cooperation, we supported the implementation of projects in the fields of education, health, preservation of the oceans and migration;

Please allow me to acknowledge the behaviour of our Communities residing in the seven countries covered by the jurisdiction of this Embassy who, working together in an exemplarily manner with our Consular Services, made the decision to return to Europe, during the first “covidian” wave: 208 fellow citizens, to be precise because everyone counts!

These measures fall within the objectives of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (PPEU): promoting a European recovery leveraged by climate and digital transition and strengthening the strategic autonomy of a Europe open to the world.

For 2021, the PPEU will bet on mechanisms to achieve a GreenEurope, prioritising the implementation of the European Ecological Pact and enacting the first European Climate Law allowing us to speed up the digital and global transition – betting on effective multilateralism and the geopolitical positioning of the EU as the main actor.

Anticipating the EU-African Union Summit and the consolidation of a mutually fruitful partnership, we promoted in parallel a reflection on maritime security, based on a new assessment of threats in the Gulf of Guinea.

In this regard, we have started negotiations with the Senegalese authorities for the eventual introduction of a panel on “G7 + Friends of Gulf of Guinea”, taking advantage of the synergy between the Senegalese co-presidency of this Group during the PPEU.

As is our prerogative, we would like to invite you to participate and / or criticize, our program for 2021 on our digital platforms, restating that the strategy, both past and future, that I dared synthesising here is nothing more than a choice among multiple possible choices, some certainly better that others. But we stand by our option and that is why we are deontologically obliged to be accountable.

I also challenge you to consider Dakar as a hub to access to the whole of West Africa, as a destination for business, cultural exchange and tourism, in a context of solid institutional stability – just four hours away with daily direct flights with TAP Air Portugal. This Embassy is here at your service.

We articulate concrete and useful initiatives for the Portuguese who come to us, never neglecting the Communication dimension and we strive to achieve a #modernandcompetitiveportugal synchronized with a green, digital and global Europe in West Africa.