Yesterday the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a $540 million, five-year compact with Senegal. This is the 11th compact with a sub-Saharan African country and the 19th compact globally. The signing, which took place on Wednesday morning at the U.S. Department of State, was presided over by Republic of Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The compact itself was signed by Senegal’s Minister of Finance and Economy Abdoulaye Diop and Acting MCC CEO Darius Mans.

At an afternoon event hosted by Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), a packed room on the Hill heard from Representative Payne, Darius Mans, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), and President Wade, among others. It was evident that each speaker was proud of this new compact, the partnership it reflects, and the potential it has to further development in Senegal. Rep. Payne lauded President Wade for his commitment to democracy, and Rep. Jackson-Lee said that the Senegal compact was an “…affirmation of President Wade’s commitment to democracy, tolerance, and the future of his young people.”

In his address, President Wade said “I am proud to be the president of a country that the American people believe deserves support for our development.” He praised the U.S. for recognizing the critical role infrastructure plays in development, a factor that Wade himself has made a priority for Senegal.

Darius Mans welcomed this new partnership, and said that the compact reflects Senegal’s own development priorities, emphasizing long-term growth through infrastructure and agriculture. This compact, he said, signals that Senegal is “open for business” with the private sector, and that the next step will be to deliver on these promises. Mans expressed his hope that the MCC compact with Senegal will provide frameworks for lasting growth in the country.

The compact, which is one of the largest signed to-date, focuses on road rehabilitation and irrigation, with an eye towards bolstering agricultural productivity and food security in Senegal, and boosting rural markets and trade. The plan will involve rehabilitating crucial roads in northern and southern Senegal, which is intended to help agricultural communities get their goods to local and international markets and improve access to services like schools and hospitals for rural communities.

The compact will also fund a water and irrigation management project in the Senegal River Valley to increase crop yields. Senegal currently imports 70 percent of its rice, which makes it vulnerable to the dramatic increases in food and rice prices that took place as recently as last year. The irrigation program is designed to increase crop production as a way of improving Senegal’s food security.

One is excited about the Senegal compact, as you can see in the press statement we released today; we look forward to following its implementation and results.

-Beth Adler