U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and Senegal's visiting Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne attend the signing ceremony of the pact between the U.S. government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Senegalese government at the State Department in Washington D.C., the United States, on Dec. 10, 2018. The United States and Senegal on Monday signed a five-year power cooperation agreement worth 600 million U.S. dollars.
The United States and Senegal on Monday signed a five-year power cooperation agreement worth 600 million U.S. dollars.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Senegal's visiting Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne and participated in the signing ceremony of the pact between the U.S. government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Senegalese government at the State Department.
According to Pompeo's statement, the pact, with its full name of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Senegal Power Compact, included 550 million dollars of Senegal Power Compact and an additional 50 million dollars contributed by the government of Senegal.
The compact aims to "modernize and strengthen Senegal's power sector ... through improved access to electricity," Pompeo said, noting it will also complement the "Power Africa" initiative implemented by the U.S. government to boost Sub-Saharan Africa's power sector.
A separate statement issued by the MCC, an independent U.S. government agency working to reduce global poverty, the compact was developed to "meet the growing demand for reliable electricity in one of Africa's fastest growing economies ... in West Africa."
The compact consists of three projects, namely, the Modernizing and Strengthening of Senelec Transmission Network Project, the Increasing Access to Electricity in Rural and Peri-Urban Areas Project and the Power Sector Enabling Environment and Capacity Development Project.
These projects focused on improving the transmission network in and around the capital of Dakar, increasing electricity access in agricultural areas of the southern and central regions, and improving the overall governance of the sector.
Created in 2004, the MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to under-developed countries.
Senegal is one of Africa's fastest growing economies in West Africa.
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