Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Photo: Reuters
Iran, Senegal resume diplomatic ties
After two-year break, Tehran and Dakar resume bilateral ties
Iran and Senegal will resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies in one another's capitals, Egyptian state media reported on Thursday, ending two years of estrangement over Tehran's alleged links to Senegalese rebels.
Dakar broke off relations with Iran in February, 2011, accusing Tehran of supporting separatist rebels in its southern Casamance region.
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The diplomatic upset was one of a spate at that time between Iran and West African nations over alleged arms smuggling that had damaged Tehran's search for trade partners on the continent.
Neighbouring Gambia had earlier cut ties with Tehran after the seizure in Lagos port of 13 containers of weapons from Iran.
Senegal's President Macky Sall and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed to resume ties when they met on the sidelines of an Islamic summit in Cairo on Wednesday, Egypt's state news agency MENA quoted Senegal's foreign minister as saying.
Sall was elected last year, replacing Abdoulaye Wade.
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