washington<u+2014>senegalese president macky sall said on a visit to the u.s. that he does not believe president-elect donald trump will follow through on some of his most controversial campaign pledges, including a ban on muslim immigrants, that raised alarm bells for world leaders. <u+201c>i do believe that what he said as a candidate will be very different than what he will do as president because president is president,<u+201d> mr. sall said in an interview with the wall street journal. mr. sall, elected in 2012, heads a muslim-majority african country that is a key contributor to counterterror operations and a signatory to the landmark paris climate agreement that caps emissions and aims to curb the global rise in temperatures. one of the first foreign leaders to visit the u.s. in the aftermath of the election, mr. sall did not meet either mr. trump or president barack obama, but was attending meetings at the international monetary fund and the u.s. agency for international development. mr. trump had called on the campaign trail last year for a temporary ban on muslim immigration. he later shifted on that proposal , saying he would pause immigration from countries affected by terrorism. he has also pledged to pull the u.s. out of last year<u+2019>s international agreement reached in paris that commits more than 190 countries to curtailing greenhouse gas emissions. mr. sall said he and other leaders have no idea what the president-elect actually will do. <u+201c>we want to continue our cooperation with the united states and i think the u.s. needs not just senegal but all of africa,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m sure that president trump will see the reality of the relationship between the u.s. and the rest of the world.<u+201d> the west african leader, who hosted a visit from mr. obama in 2013, struck a hopeful tone about his country<u+2019>s direction and its ability to work with mr. trump. he will next week head to morocco where climate negotiators are discussing the next steps for the paris agreement. mr. sall dismissed concerns that the u.s. under mr. trump might not follow through on its commitments on the agreement, which could discourage senegal and other <u+201c>least developed countries<u+201d> from abiding. <u+201c>america cannot go back after the paris agreement because it is for our common interests in the entire world,<u+201d> mr. sall said. <u+201c>if we continue on this way, definitely we will lose our planet.<u+201d> mr. trump said almost nothing about africa on the campaign trail, and it remains to be seen what priorities, if any, he has for the continent. the u.s. currently spends billions in africa on aid and investment and mr. trump<u+2019>s predecessors both launched personal projects there. mr. obama started the <u+201c>power africa<u+201d> project, which aims to double the number of people who have electricity on the continent, and also has encouraged businesses to invest there. president george w. bush started the president<u+2019>s emergency plan for aids relief, which provided drugs for millions of hiv patients. senegal, a tolerant and cosmopolitan west african democracy, has been a long time supporter of the international criminal court. south africa last month dealt a blow to the court when it said it had begun initiating steps to leave the tribunal. mr. sall said senegal would continue to strongly support the court as several african leaders have turned against it in recent years, accusing it of a misplaced, neocolonialist focus on their countries. <u+201c>[some] see it as an international court for africans and this is not acceptable if this is the perception,<u+201d> mr. sall said. <u+201c>i know they have other non-african members in icc but the perception is very high.<u+201d> he said he would work with other african countries to find solutions to their complaints about the court but <u+201c>countries have their own responsibility and their own sovereignty to exit or to stay.<u+201d> the u.s. isn<u+2019>t a member of the icc, although the obama administration generally supports the court<u+2019>s prosecutions and has provided assistance to it. write to felicia schwartz at felicia.schwartz@wsj.com
west african leader expects trump to moderate his most controversial stands - wsj
felicia schwartz