Senegal adopted Arabic as its official language instead of French

Senegal adopted Arabic as its official language instead of French

In 1960, freed from the French colony, Senegal abandoned the French language for the first time and announced Arabic as the official language of the country.

In 1960, the government of Senegal, freed from the French colony, decided to abandon the French language and declare Arabic as the official alternative language. Arabia.com reports about this.

The decision of the Senegalese government was made after a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on Sunday.

It is noted that this decision is an unprecedented step in terms of political changes in Senegal, and it is significant that it was taken shortly after the inauguration of the young opposition leader Bassirou Diomay Fay as the country's president (on April 2).

In a televised address on March 26, the president-elect said: "I want to say to the international community, to our bilateral and multilateral partners, that Senegal will always maintain its position and remain a friendly, safe and reliable country for any partners it cooperates with."

Bassirou Diomay Fay proposed a new vision of his country's international relations based on four pillars: the first pillar, in his opinion, is the restoration of national sovereignty dependent on the outside world. The second is to free the country's wealth from Western control. The third is the African Union. The fourth pillar is to build Senegalese relations on what he called honorable, respectful and effective cooperation.

Let us remind you that Bassirou Diomay Fay called on the French military forces to leave the country in his historic address after he was elected president of Senegal. He also stressed the need to renegotiate all previous agreements with Paris, reflecting the desire to achieve greater political and economic independence.