Although Senegal is unlikely to qualify for full BRICS membership, it could emerge as a potential BRICS partner country in the first place.
In addition to Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the BRICS group has also included Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates as full members since January 2024. Indonesia has also officially joined BRICS.
After a presidential election, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in as President of Senegal in April 2024. The year 2025 was also marked by the president’s intention to reshape the country’s foreign policy.
In early January, the Senegalese president announced that the country intends to eliminate all foreign military presence by 2025 and announced the closure of all military bases in Senegal by September 2025.
Senegal, with a strategic shift, moving away from the long-standing political, economic, and military dominance of France in West Africa, is reassessing military relations with France and seeing the expansion of relations with BRICS members as a path to balanced development and diversification of its alliances.
Meanwhile, the country, which has been one of France’s strategic allies in Africa since independence and for decades, is gradually distancing itself from the West and entering a new era, and embracing multipolarity.
In addition, Dakar’s inclination towards BRICS is a balancing act or a real shift towards a multipolar world, redefining and enhancing its geopolitical and strategic position.
Now, apart from its active participation in several regional and international organizations, including the United Nations, the African Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Senegal has also tried to play an important role within the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali also stated that the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) should develop its relations with the BRICS member countries. In this context, Senegal, which enjoys a strategic position, can become a bridge between BRICS and West Africa and the Sahel region.
With BRICS, Senegal can benefit from various opportunities for greater independence, diversification of international alliances, multilateralism and a pan-Africanist approach, greater diplomatic mobility and international presence, more space for exchange of views, increasing Africa’s weight on the international stage and the current world order, and liberation from the constraints of the West.
In this context, the final declaration of the Rio Summit was a kind of broader solidarity of the global South in line with Senegal’s goals.
Also, while among the core BRICS countries, South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia are on the African continent, Uganda is a BRICS partner. On January 17, the Brazilian government announced that Nigeria had joined BRICS as a partner. While the appeal of BRICS in Africa is quite evident, Senegal also does not want to stay away from diversifying its strategic partners in Africa.
Senegal adapts to a changing world
In fact, by expressing its public interest in BRICS, Senegal is sending a strong signal to the BRICS powers to adapt to the changing world. Meanwhile, the country’s relations with the core BRICS members have grown well in the past two years.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized during his meeting with Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on June 27, 2025, Beijing and Dakar are partners “on the path of development and revitalization” and expressed their readiness to strengthen cooperation with the aim of strengthening relations between the countries of the global South.
Relations with Russia and the strengthening of the Dakar-Moscow axis are also growing, and Senegal is considered one of Russia’s main allies in Africa.
Senegal, with its strong reserves and promising strategic energy resources, especially in gas and oil, and its value as a commercial player, could be of interest to BRICS members. It is a member of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) with Senegal’s export potential.
Despite its small size, Senegal is a stable country with a strategic port and is one of the most stable countries in Africa, with an ambitious 25-year development plan.
With its 2050 vision, Dakar seeks to “guarantee Senegal’s sovereignty at the political, economic, social, and cultural levels through the industrialization and development of all sectors.”
Therefore, strengthening South-South cooperation and access to alternative financial resources, in particular through the New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS member countries. The NDB is considered by Senegal. Certainly, with the New Development Bank, Senegal could have access to more and wider monetary or commercial resources.
BRICS and the New Development Bank (NDB), through financing options, can provide funding for infrastructure as an alternative to Western-controlled financial institutions for Senegal without the political conditions of Western loans. In this framework, BRICS members can offer Senegal various options such as the use of local currencies, trade partnerships, and oil and energy agreements.
If Dakar has hopes for investment from India, Brazil, or Russia, the creation of a Russian economic zone in Senegal, deepening the strategic partnership, intensifying cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expanding ties in the fields of investment, trade, and energy.
The threats of US President Donald Trump during the recent BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro were a confirmation of the importance of BRICS. However, the BRICS summit starting on July 6 in Rio attracted more African countries.
Meanwhile, BRICS countries now account for nearly 35 percent of all West African trade, a significant increase, and an Afrobarometer survey in 2024 showed that more than 70 percent of respondents in West Africa have a positive view of BRICS countries. Senegal is also seeking “soft power gains from cultural, technological, and educational initiatives” with BRICS.
Senegal as a potential BRICS partner
Senegal is certainly not as large as the potential and aspiring BRICS countries, but it does have significant potential.
Although Senegal is unlikely to qualify for full BRICS membership, it could emerge as a potential BRICS partner country in the first place.
After last year’s BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, the BRICS Partner Countries format was created, which also includes some African countries, such as Uganda. In this format, Senegal could emerge as a serious candidate and play an important role.
However, the final decision on Senegal’s entry as an observer or full member in BRICS also depends on the internal approach of the BRICS members and the group’s development strategy.
Samyar Rostami, а political observer and senior researcher in international relations
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