African Diplomacy Observer

Côte d’Ivoire Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Youssouf Bakayoko, undertook a friendship and work visit to Kuweit from 13-14 November 2007. the Ivorian Foreign Minister was invited by his Kuwaiti counterpart and ws also carrying a message of the Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo, for the Kuwaiti leader, His Highness the Emir Cheick Sabah Al-Ahmed El Sabah.

During his visit, H.E. Youssouf Bakayoko also had talks with the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, the Governor of the Kuwaiti Development Bank and other authorities with whom he evoked recent developments in the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire since the signing of the political peace Ouagadougou Agreement in March 2007 and addressed reasons for delays in its implementation. Ivorian Minister nonetheless emphasized the shared political will of the different parties for a rapid and definitive end of the crisis. H.E Youssouf Bakayoko received strong assurances of the Emir that his country was committed to taking the lead in conveying and hosting the Donor Round Table aims to raise necessary fund to support Côte d’Ivoire in the reconstruction of areas destroyed or damaged during the crisis. The decision of conveying this meeting had been taken at the 34th session of the Islamic Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Conference Organization (ICO) held in Islamabad (Pakistan) from 15-17 May 2007.

Source: Côte d’Ivoire MFA

Ivorian Prime Minister, Guilaume Soro, met with the diplomatic corps to Côte d’Ivoire on October 5. During two hours, the Prime Minister addressed recent political evolutions in the country, particularly the implementation of the political agreement signed in Ouagadougou early this year, on March 4, 2007.

According to Ambassadors who attended that meeting, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to the full implementation of that political agreement and informed them on progress made towards it, notably with the launching of the phase of identification of future voters. At the end of that meeting, Ambassadors expressed their satisfaction and reaffirmed their full support to Côte d’Ivoire in this particularly challenging process.

Source: Notre Voie

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.