Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad held talks with Senegal's President Macky Sall soon after his arrival here to attend a conference on Africa.

The meeting took place yesterday, at the Presidential Palace in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.

Those present at the meeting on the Malaysian side included Deputy Foreign Minister Marzuki Yahya and the country's ambassador to Senegal, Dr Shazelina Zainul Abidin.

Sall had earlier welcomed Mahathir, who is on a two-day visit to Senegal, at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Airport.

He is in town for the Third International Conference on the Emergence of Africa (ICEA-III), taking place at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre in Dakar, from Jan 17 to 19.

Mahathir is accompanied on the visit by his wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali.

The prime minister is the only head of government from outside Africa taking part in ICEA-III, which aims to deepen the debate on the robustness of growth and inclusivity in Africa's emergence plans through, in particular, a better positioning of the private sector supported by strong partnerships with the State.

With the central theme of "Emergence, Private Sector and Inclusiveness”, the conference provides the opportunity for Mahathir to showcase the success of the public-private partnership in Malaysia.

- Bernama