The Senegalese President, Macky Sall, begins a two-day visit to Portugal today, with meetings scheduled with his counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and with António Costa, and will also be received with a solemn session in parliament.
The Senegalese head of state, who is on a state visit at the invitation of the Portuguese president, will be received this morning with military honors, at the Praça do Império, where he will be reviewed by the guard of honor, before laying a wreath at the tomb of Luís de Camões, at the Jerónimos Monastery.
According to the visit’s agenda, released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a meeting with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will follow at the Belém Palace, with statements to the media.
Macky Sall will then meet with António Costa, at the São Bento Palace, the Prime Minister’s official residence, where both will sign legal instruments, followed by a lunch hosted by the head of the executive.
In the evening, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa gives an official dinner to Macky Sall at Palácio Nacional da Ajuda.
On Wednesday, the Senegalese Head of State’s agenda includes a visit to the Paços do Concelho (City Hall), where he will receive the keys to the city from the hands of the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas.
Macky Sall then goes to the Assembly of the Republic, where he will meet with the president of the parliament, Augusto Santos Silva, before a solemn session is held in his honor.
Senegal has been experiencing severe social unrest, with demonstrations following the two-year prison sentence of opposition challenger and declared candidate for next year’s presidential elections Ousmane Sonko, quelled by police. According to the authorities, 16 people died in the protests earlier this month, but Amnesty International puts the death toll at 23.
President Sall, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, remains silent about his intentions regarding the presidential election scheduled for February 2024, for which some 20 candidates have already declared themselves.
Opponents believe that Sall is constitutionally barred from running for a third term.