Sénégal maintains strong UEMOA reform progress despite slight dip

The Minister of Finance and Budget, Cheikh Diba, led the political phase of the 2025 UEMOA annual review in Dakar on Monday. The session brought together the President of the UEMOA Commission, Abdoulaye Diop, alongside key government officials. The event evaluated the country’s commitment to regional integration initiatives under the Union’s Treaty framework.

The review, established by Additional Act No. 05/2013 and conducted in Senegal since 2014, has now transitioned to a biennial format following a decision made in Bissau in July 2023. This marks the eleventh edition of the assessment, which serves as a critical mechanism for strengthening economic integration across the West African bloc. Technical discussions held from November 10 to 12, 2025, examined 145 reforms and five projects before the political validation phase.

While the overall assessment remains positive, the results reveal a modest decline in reform implementation. Senegal achieved a 76.45% average implementation rate in 2025, down from 78.59% in 2024—a drop of 2.14 percentage points. This decline stems primarily from underwhelming progress in culture, tourism, and handicrafts (-15.10 points) and business environment and quality standards (-34.75 points). A delayed submission of the 2024 GUDEF report to the Commission further exacerbated the situation.

On a brighter note, significant improvements were recorded in several areas, including customs union compliance (+4.55 points), human and social development (+6.58 points), energy and mining sector reforms (+3.33 points), and public finance harmonization (+1.88 point).

The technical phase was conducted in a collaborative spirit between Senegalese officials and UEMOA Commission experts, described as fraternal, professional, and objective. The findings will be presented by Commissioner Mahamadou Gado, overseeing Economic Policies and Domestic Taxation.

Cheikh Diba reaffirmed the government’s dedication to enhancing regional performance, announcing that the political phase’s conclusions would be presented directly to the Prime Minister in a meeting with the Commission President. He also commended Amadou Tchambou, the Commission’s Resident Representative in Dakar, for his role in facilitating cooperation between the regional institution and Senegalese authorities.

Abdoulaye Diop highlighted the strong commitment of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to regional integration, as well as the support provided by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and the entire government in advancing the Union’s objectives.