Senegal experienced a modest downturn in 2025 concerning the implementation of community reforms, policies, programs, and projects set forth by the UEMOA. This occurred despite authorities generally assessing the overall outcomes as satisfactory.

During the political phase of the 11th Annual Review of UEMOA community reforms, policies, programs, and projects, hosted in Senegal, an average implementation rate of 76.45% was officially recorded for 2025. This marks a 2.14 percentage point decrease from the 78.59% achieved in 2024. The assessment this year encompassed 145 reforms, an increase from 132 in the previous cycle.

These findings emerged following discussions involving Senegalese state officials and the UEMOA Commission. The meeting was presided over by Cheikh Diba, the Minister of Finance and Budget, alongside Abdoulaye Diop, President of the UEMOA Commission.

Cheikh Diba attributed this decline primarily to setbacks in economic governance and convergence reforms, which saw a 1.3 percentage point reduction, as well as a more significant 6.03 percentage point drop in sectoral reforms. However, advancements in the common market, showing a 0.91 percentage point increase, helped to mitigate the overall negative performance.

The Minister further elaborated that the challenges within economic governance and convergence were largely due to the delayed submission of the 2024 report from the Single Window for Financial Statement Submission (GUDEF) to the UEMOA Commission during the technical review phase.

Despite this overall regression, several sectors demonstrated positive achievements. Notable progress was observed in the harmonization of the legal, accounting, and statistical frameworks for public finances, which improved by 1.83 percentage points. The customs union advanced by 4.55 points, while the agriculture, livestock, fishing, and environment sectors collectively increased by 2.12 points. Human and social development saw a significant gain of 6.58 points, and energy and mines progressed by 3.33 points.

Cheikh Diba highlighted that the most significant results among structural reforms were particularly evident in areas such as culture, tourism, crafts, quality standards, and the overall business climate.

Commitments announced to realign the trajectory

Minister Diba emphasized that these results necessitate focused attention and immediate corrective actions. The Senegalese government is therefore committed to implementing the necessary measures to consolidate existing achievements, enhance performance, and systematically address the identified deficiencies.

He pointed out that substantial efforts are still required, particularly in finalizing document validation processes, providing essential supporting documentation, and effectively executing and monitoring community programs and projects.

The political phase of this review successfully validated the outcomes from the technical phase, reinforcing the commitment of the Senegalese administration and its highest authorities to the application of community reforms.

Cheikh Diba believes that, despite the remaining room for improvement, these results align with a broader positive trend observed across UEMOA member states, where significant strides in reform implementation have also been made.

The Minister reiterated that, for Senegal, strengthening regional integration remains a paramount objective. In this light, the conclusions of this political phase will be presented to Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko during an upcoming audience with the President of the UEMOA Commission.