Senegal’s President Bashir Diomai Fay today opened the MSGBC Oil and Gas Power 2025 Conference and Exhibition in Dakar, setting an ambitious tone for regional integration, energy sovereignty and shared prosperity across West Africa’s key energy basins. Marking the fourth High-Level Energy Meeting, the President highlighted deepening collaboration between Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry, and called on global investors to recognize Africa as a space of opportunity ready to shape their own energy future.
The President stressed that the continuity between the previous Congress in Nouakchott and this year’s return to Dakar symbolizes more than geographical proximity, but reflects the growing unity of the regional front.
“I want to say this to investors all over the world: Africa is ready,” President Fay said. “Investing in Africa is about more than just extracting resources. It means contributing to a larger initiative, creating jobs for young people, developing competitive industries and fostering innovation that will shape the future of the continent.”
In addition to the President, the opening ceremony of MSGBC Oil and Gas Power 2025 was attended by Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Executive Director of African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), a continental energy organization, who spoke about the priorities of Africa’s economic independence. He called on the continent’s leaders to develop harmonized centers of excellence to foster the skills needed to foster regional capacity building throughout the energy value chain.
“I appeal to leaders to win Africa’s energy industry away from over-reliance on foreign companies,” Dr. Ibrahim said, adding, “There is a need to promote regional centers of excellence for the oil and gas industry.”
Meanwhile, Mohamed Hamel, Executive Director of the Eng. Gas Exporting Countries Forum, highlighted how new and upcoming energy projects have the potential to drive a new era of energy prosperity across the MSGBC region. He highlighted the Sangomar oil field, which produced first oil in 2024, and the Greater Tortu Ahmeim LNG development, which produced first gas in December 2024, as potential catalysts for energy and economic dependence, while stimulating further investment in exploration and production across the region.
“This will be a catalyst for broader and more inclusive industrialization,” said the Ph.D. Hamel. “We aim to leverage these resources to strengthen the country’s position on the world stage.”
Speakers emphasized the historical changes in Africa’s economic status and stressed that the days of being a mere supplier of raw materials must remain. The MSGBC Basin is described as not only a shared geological resource, but also a community whose development must promote inclusive growth, job creation, innovation and stability.
“As we begin this MSGBC conference, it is very important that investment is the cornerstone of our region. It is this investment that will drive our region to thrive in energy,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
Speakers concluded the opening ceremony by calling on participants to turn dialogue into decisive action. President Fay called for the 2025 conference and exhibition to be a turning point. This turning point will see strong commitments, new partnerships and a strengthened collective vision to propel the continent towards energy independence and prosperity.
