Sall Meets Faye to Advance UN Secretary-General Bid
Former Senegalese President Macky Sall returned to Dakar on Friday and held his first formal meeting with incumbent President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, seeking official backing for his campaign to become the next United Nations Secretary-General.
The July 18 audience at the Presidential Palace marked the first direct interaction between the two leaders since Sall left office in 2024. An official communiqué from the Presidency framed the meeting as courteous and solemn, emphasizing the continuity of the Senegalese state and the need to safeguard national interests on the international stage, irrespective of domestic political differences.
The Presidency confirmed that President Faye would be kept regularly informed of developments in Sall’s candidacy. The selection process for the next UN Secretary-General formally opened in New York on November 25, 2025.
Sall’s arrival at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport earlier on July 17 drew large crowds of supporters from his Alliance pour la République (APR) party. Thousands lined the routes into the city, waving party colors in a visible show of political mobilization despite the midday heat and security measures. The former president later thanked those who turned out via a social media post.
Following the meeting in Dakar, Sall is scheduled to travel to neighboring Gambia for an official visit, where he is expected to meet President Adama Barrow as part of his ongoing diplomatic outreach to build support for the UN post.
The high-level engagement comes amid a period of political transition in Senegal. Local reporting portrayed the encounter as a notable example of institutional dialogue, separating domestic political competition from the pursuit of broader national interests abroad.
Sall, who served as president from 2012 to 2024, has been actively consulting partners across Africa and beyond since launching his bid for the UN’s top position. The Presidency’s statement underscores that support for a former head of state on the global stage operates on a distinct logic from ongoing domestic matters.
The development is being closely watched as an indicator of how Senegal’s political actors balance partisan divides with the projection of unified national interests internationally.
