Alioune Sarr, president of the Alliance for Senegal (APS), recently completed a European tour that took him from Paris to Massy and Creil, where he engaged with the Senegalese diaspora to promote a new vision linking territories, diaspora, and sovereignty.
During the tour, Mr. Sarr personally visited Senegalese communities in their homes and gathering spots, including the Foyer Les Mûriers in Paris’s 20th arrondissement and in Massy, Essonne. These discussions covered the country’s challenges, diaspora expectations, and territorial development opportunities.
The meetings allowed the APS leader to listen directly to the concerns of Senegalese living in France and gather their proposals for contributing to Senegal’s economic, social, and territorial progress.
Strong mobilization in Creil
The tour continued in Creil, Oise department in Hauts-de-France, where Senegalese compatriots turned out in force to support the vision of the Alliance for Senegal. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Amy Faye, the party’s political leader in France, who gathered Senegalese from Creil and surrounding areas to discuss President Alioune Sarr’s orientations and the party’s political project. In her speech, Ms. Faye praised Mr. Sarr’s commitment to the diaspora and stressed the importance of Senegalese abroad fully participating in building Senegal’s future. The audience, including association leaders, workers, students, entrepreneurs, and families, showed keen interest in proposals around territorial development, productive investment, and economic sovereignty.
A strong message to the political class
Through the exchanges during this tour, Alioune Sarr reaffirmed his belief that Senegal needs a new governance model based on dialogue, responsibility, and collective construction. For the APS president, national development challenges go beyond partisan divides and require the mobilization of all the nation’s vital forces. ‘We can be political adversaries, but we must never be enemies of the Republic,’ he said. He called on all political actors to prioritize solutions, national interest, and economic development above positional disputes.
The limitations of the centralized model
One of the key takeaways from this tour was the need to rethink public policies based on territorial realities. According to Alioune Sarr, decades of excessively centralized development have shown their limits, concentrating investments and opportunities in a few major urban centers. ‘When everything is decided at the center, the territories wait. When territories decide and act, the country moves forward,’ he argued. He believes Senegal must now rely more on its local authorities to foster better-distributed and more inclusive growth.
Dakar and the territories: a shared national ambition
Rejecting any opposition between Dakar and the rest of the country, Alioune Sarr developed a vision based on territorial complementarity. ‘Dakar is the heart of Senegal, but the territories are its lungs. No country can breathe fully with only one lung. Together, in the complementarity of all our territories, we will build a sovereign, prosperous, and balanced Senegal,’ he stated. He emphasized that sustainable development requires each territory to be empowered to value its resources, create jobs, and attract investments. ‘When Dakar beats stronger and the territories breathe better, all of Senegal grows.’
Notto Diobasse Smart City, a model for the territories
Drawing on the experience of Notto Diobasse Smart City, Alioune Sarr presented this program as a concrete illustration of the transformation potential of territories. He argued that Senegal’s development will come through creating territorial hubs for production, innovation, training, industrialization, and services. ‘Senegal will not develop from Dakar to the territories. It will develop from the territories to Dakar,’ he said. For the APS president, every territory must become an engine of national development and contribute to collective wealth creation.
Land as a development asset
During the discussions, Alioune Sarr also stressed the need to change the perspective on land. He considers land a strategic asset that must be valued for present and future generations. ‘A hectare has no value because it is sold. It has value because it is developed,’ he said. Comparing the sale of undeveloped land to exporting raw materials, he advocated for a logic of transformation that creates jobs and wealth. ‘Rich nations do not sell their resources. They transform them.’ ‘Selling land is consuming the future. Developing land is building the future.’
The diaspora as a strategic development partner
Throughout his tour, Alioune Sarr emphasized the central role the diaspora must play in Senegal’s development. He called on Senegalese abroad to become investors, builders, and partners in territorial development. ‘The diaspora is not an ATM. The diaspora is an open-air development ministry,’ he stated. He believes Senegal’s future rests on a strong alliance between territories, the diaspora, youth, women, entrepreneurs, and local governments.
A new national pact
At the end of this tour, the president of the Alliance for Senegal called for building a new national pact based on three pillars: strong territories, a mobilized diaspora, and assumed economic sovereignty. The mobilization seen in Paris, Massy, and Creil confirms the growing interest of Senegalese abroad in territorial development issues and their willingness to actively participate in Senegal’s transformation. President Alioune Sarr concluded his tour with these words: ‘We did not come to manage the future. We came to build it.’
