The General Staff of the Armed Forces aims to create genuine synergy between researchers, investors, and all public and private stakeholders involved in the defense industry in Senegal. It is with this objective in mind that it organized the National Investor Mobilization Day for the Defense Industry. The event opened on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at the General Mamadou Mansour Seck Amphitheater in the Dial Diop district of Dakar, under the chairmanship of General Birame Diop, Minister of the Armed Forces. Among those present were General Mbaye Cissé, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces; representatives from the Senegalese Investors Club (CIS); the National Council of Employers of Senegal (CNP); project leaders; and members of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

Objective: "to unite local synergies through the creation of a framework for dialogue between the Defense and Security Forces, project promoters and the national private sector"

The National Investor Mobilization Day for the Defense Industry aims to foster local synergies by creating a framework for dialogue between the Defense and Security Forces, project developers, and the national private sector. It provides an opportunity to: "present to the national private sector the current and future challenges of developing an independent defense industry; encourage the private sector to invest in the defense industry; find investments for researchers who have submitted projects for the President of the Republic's Prize for Technological and Industrial Innovation in the Military and Paramilitary Sectors; promote national integration as a lever for security and economic growth; identify strategic national partners for the defense industry; involve the nation in the development of strategic projects for the Defense and Security Forces; and inform the public about initiatives undertaken for the development of the defense industry."

"We want to give substance to a shared vision: that of a Senegal master of its own destiny, capable of defending its sovereignty at all times and in all places."

Through this event, General Mbaye Cissé and his colleagues sought to give substance to a shared vision: "that of a Senegal master of its own destiny, capable of defending its sovereignty at all times and in all places." According to him, the goal is to bring together three worlds that, all too often, still have little understanding of each other: the world of research, the world of business, and the world of defense and security forces.

“Under the strong impetus of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and under the enlightened leadership of the Minister of the Armed Forces present here, our country has embarked on the demanding but necessary path of strategic autonomy. As the President of the Republic forcefully recalled during the Armed Forces Day on November 10th, his ambition remains unwavering: to give Senegal the means to defend its sovereignty, to protect its stability and to confidently pursue its march towards harmonious development,” stressed the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

He adds: “This presidential vision is our compass. It reminds us that a country’s defense no longer rests solely on military strength, but on the capacity to innovate, produce, and adapt. Modernizing our forces has become a strategic imperative, and the factors for the imminent success of this vast undertaking necessarily require the national industrialization of defense. This is the very essence of our collective commitment: to make defense no longer a sector of expenditure, but a lever for industrial, scientific, and economic transformation. For a nation’s security is only sustainable when it relies on the resources of its own soil and the expertise of its own people.”

"Senegal has chosen to invent its own model."

Army General Mbaye Cissé maintains that Senegal has chosen to invent its own model, namely: “an endogenous, sober and inclusive model, based on civil-military synergy and national excellence. This model, explains the military officer, aims to create a productive ecosystem where the soldier, the engineer, the entrepreneur, the researcher and the technician work in the same spirit, in service of a common cause: that of building a strong, innovative and sovereign national defense.”

For the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, this strategic autonomy fundamentally requires the acquisition of endogenous capabilities in the following areas: textiles, leather, clothing and personal equipment; the medical and pharmaceutical sector, for the benefit of the armed forces health service and, more broadly, the national health system; rolling stock and spare parts; electronic equipment and drones; secure means of communication, sensors, alert and surveillance systems; software, digital platforms, cybersecurity; data analysis, artificial intelligence applied to defense and security; but also in the infrastructure, specialized buildings, logistics platforms and industrial facilities necessary for these new sectors.

To this end, General Mbaye Cissé reports that significant milestones have been reached. “On the instructions of the Minister of the Armed Forces, a steering committee headed by Mr. Babacar Dièye has been established. With the invaluable support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, FONSIS, and APIX, we have laid the foundations of an industrial structure that now calls for contributions from the private sector, banks, manufacturers, researchers, and all patriotic investors eager to participate in the development of this defense industry,” he announced.

"We are currently operating in a volatile international environment."

The Minister of the Armed Forces, for his part, after paying tribute to General Mbaye Cissé for initiating this national defense industry project and taking the necessary steps to bring it to fruition, addressed the challenges. “We are currently operating in a volatile international environment. The uncertainty that characterizes it makes strategic decision-making more complex than ever. Conflicts are multiplying, regional tensions are escalating, supply chains are weakening, while technological developments are accelerating. In this environment, excessive dependence on defense equipment imports is a critical vulnerability that jeopardizes our security, our freedom of action, and above all, our sovereignty,” argued General Birame Diop.

The CIS is committed to supporting the national army in its quest for sovereignty in defense and security.

The Senegal Investors Club (CIS) participated in this day of mobilization of national investors for the defense industry. Its president, Mr. Pierre Goudiaby Atépa, welcomed the initiative and pledged to support the national army in its quest for sovereignty in defense and security.

This first edition of the national investor mobilization day for the defense industry was marked by fruitful exchanges between the military and the national private sector. It also featured exhibitions by Senegalese researchers and the armed forces at booths set up in the parade ground of the Dial Diop Barracks.