President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire has announced US$2.3 billion in funding for the Abidjan Initiative, a five-year plan to combat land degradation and deforestation in the West African nation. Ouattara presented the launch of the program during opening remarks at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention…
In Côte d’Ivoire, authorities announced another step forward in boosting the economy through its transport sector. Beginning Monday, the company’s SOTRA bus services — working in partnership with Italian manufacturer IVECO —will start production of new minibuses. The government’s agreements with the private sector firms call for 1,000 of the…
President Alassane Ouattara has won a third term in Côte d’Ivoire, where political and ethnic tensions remain high as opposition leaders dismissed the results and said they plan on setting their own new elections. The Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) in the West African nation said Ouattara won with more than…
Even as the polls closed Sunday in Guinea, where tensions ran high ahead of the contest between President Alpha Condé and challenger Cellou Dalein Diallo, neighboring Côte d’Ivoire saw fatal ethnic clashes ahead of its own bitterly disputed presidential elections. At least two people died in Bongouanou, where members of…
President Alassane Ouattara was on hand Friday for services to honor Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the former prime minister of Côte d’Ivoire who died on July 8. Coulibaly was buried in his family hometown of Korhogo following a week of national mourning. He was 61, and had recently returned from France…
President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire announced Thursday he will not seek a third term, ending speculation in the uneasy West African nation as it moves toward October 2020 elections. The 78-year-old Ouattara, who has been in power for a decade, added that he wants to see a transfer of…
President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire promised Tuesday that the country’s October 2020 elections will be “democratic, transparent and peaceful,” though the West African nation is increasingly troubled over the targeting of political opponents and Ouattara’s own intentions regarding any third term. Ouattara, speaking at Chatham House in London, addressed…
The Government of Ghana has announced its full support for the new ECO currency that will replace the CFA Franc in 2020, and is urging other West African states to do the same. President Nana Akufo Addo, a champion of regional cooperation through the 15-nation ECOWAS organization and a common…
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, speaking alongside his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, announced the reform of the long-disputed CFA franc on Saturday, a currency that is used in eight nations in West Africa. The agreement with France and the Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA), which is currently led by Ouattara,…
Five African heads of state have started to arrive in Beijing ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit, which begins on Monday. Ivoirian President Alassane Ouattara, President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, and their counterparts from Botswana and Burkina Faso – Presidents Mokgweetsi Masisi and Roch Marc…
With the news this week that the 76-year-old President Alassane Ouattara won’t seek a controversial third term in Côte d’Ivoire – he’ll head up a new coalition party for a 2020 transition instead – some in neighboring Togo wonder if their own leader will take the hint that it’s time…
The political opposition in Côte d’Ivoire has responded quickly to the news that President Alassane Ouattara is not ruling out a third term in 2020, a comment the 76-year-old leader made during an interview with Jeune Afrique and reported by AFP and other international media. Ouattara told the French news…
Côte d’Ivoire continues its fast-paced economic growth, and its medium-term outlook remains favorable although some risks remain, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team that’s just wrapped up a visit to Abidjan. The IMF team led by Dhaneshwar Ghura met with, among others, President Alassane Ouattara, Prime Minister…
President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe has arrived in Côte d’Ivoire, where he was greeted by President Alassane Ouattara as both head for the Africa CEO Forum to be held Monday in Tuesday in Abidjan. Mnangagwa will present his plans for economic recovery, and with former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo will participate…
In Côte d’Ivoire, a coalition of opposition political parties announced Monday they would no longer recognize the legitimacy of the country’s Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) just days ahead of legislative elections scheduled to be held on Saturday. The Ensemble pour la Démocratie et la Souveraineté (EDS), formed last April and led…