Côte d’Ivoire Honorary Consuls Mobilized for Post-conflict Reconstruction
Honorary Consuls are an important part of a country diplomatic and consular network. Their role is very often neglected and ignore by the countries they represent, mostly those from Africa. They can play an important role in promoting economic development, tourism and trade opportunities within their jurisdiction. That is the reason why the first Conference of Côte d’Ivoire Honorary Consuls was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with some national companies and institutional structures dedicated to the promotion of Ivorian economic interests, such as the Tourism Office, Association for the promotion of exportation (APEX-CI), the public transportation company (SOTRA), the National Bureau for Technical and Development Studies (BNETD), etc. The Conference was held from September 17-22, 2007 in the economic capital, Abidjan, under on the following theme "Honorary Consuls and Post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire". The conference was conceived as a forum intended to gather together honorary consuls, businessmen, entrepreneurs, people from the media, small and medium companies.
This Conference was held in a particular context characterized by challenges pose to Côte d’Ivoire; a country involved in a post-conflict phase and seeking notably to restore its image, to boost the national economy and to undertake its reconstruction after suffering from five years of crisis. The conference was intended to introduce Honorary Consuls to Ivorian realities and to give them the opportunity to get in contact with national economic operators. Hundred Honorary Consuls took part in an Economic Forum "Business to business"; they was also received by the President of the Republic, Laurent Gbagbo, and visited Abidjan Autonomous Port facilities, as well as sites and projects in the political capital, Yamoussoukro, that included the Basilica "Notre Dame de la Paix", the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Foundation for Peace.
The discussions and works of the Conference were shaped by the following topics: Consular Affairs and Promotion of Investments; Commercial Promotion and Investments in Côte d’Ivoire.
Honorary Consuls got more insights on what was expected from them. They therefore committed themselves to boost their efforts and meet expectations placed on them by Côte d’Ivoire. Furthermore, Ivorian authorities expressed their willingness to take advantage of the Honorary Consuls action and showed interest to concerns voiced by them, relating, among other, to the issues of taxes on gifts they send to Côte d’Ivoire.
At the end of the Conference, the following resolutions were adopted:
- Institutionalization of the conference on a biennial basis;
- Creation of a Follow-up Commission under the joint-presidency of the Department for Juridical and Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the Center for the Promotion of Investment (CEPICI);
- Creation of the Union of Côte d’Ivoire Honorary Consul;
- Redaction of a Yearbook of Honorary Consuls;
- Extension of the consular network;
- Institutionalization of an annual consultation between Heads of diplomatic Mission and Honorary Consuls on a geographic basis;
- Institutionalization of an annual meeting between Heads of diplomatic Mission and Honorary Consuls of the same jurisdictions with a view to elaborating programme of work in a dynamic synergy;
- Opening of a website to allow interactive exchanges between Consuls.
The first High-level meeting between Tunisia and Portugal was held on 13 Mars 2007 in Lisbon (Portugal). This meeting was held within the framework of the implementation of the convention of friendship, good neighborhood and cooperation existing between the two countries. This convention provides the framework for exploring possibilities of new investments opportunities and reinforcing exchanges of expertise and experience in different areas such as trade.