South Africa is preparing to welcome Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) President Alassane Dramane Ouattara, who is expected to visit the country later this month.
Ouattara’s highly anticipated reciprocal visit to South Africa is at the invitation of his counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited Côte d’Ivoire last year in December.
Ramaphosa’s state visit to Côte d’Ivoire – the first by a South African head of state – was part of a week-long four-nation visit to West Africa that saw him also travel to Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
Ouattara, who is an economist by profession, will visit South Africa end of July 2022.
The Ivorian politician has been President of Côte d’Ivoire since 2010. Long before he became president, Quattara was prime minister from November 1990 to December 1993.
When he became president, Ouattara declared: “Our dream of a Côte d’Ivoire at pace, bequeathed to us by the father of the nation, President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, is in the process of being fulfilled indeed, only lasting peace, strong institutions and a new kind of Ivorian who place the interest of the nation above everything will enable our country once and for all to join the company of great democratic and developed nations.”
He added: ‘A Côte d’Ivoire where work is a recognised and cherished value.
“A modern Côte d’Ivoire which offers its people opportunities for better days to come.
“A Côte d’Ivoire where the rights of all citizens are guaranteed by the same justice for all.
“A Côte d’Ivoire of peace and safety, where the defence and security forces will continue to do even more to serve national cohesion and to protect the people, property, and economic activities of our country.
“A Côte d’Ivoire enriched by all its citizens’ acceptance of diversity.”
Now in his third term as president, Ouattara is credited with the restoration of democracy through relatively peaceful elections, economic growth, stability, and a renewed standing for Côte d’Ivoire on the international stage.
Earlier this year, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Luca Antonio Ricci, conducted the 2022 Article IV consultation discussions with Côte dIvoire during April 5 ?15.
At the conclusion of the mission, Ricci said: Côte dIvoires economy has remained resilient in the face of the pandemic due to the Ivorian authorities swift and well-designed policy responses.
“Covid-related fatalities have been low by international standards while vaccination efforts continue with about half of the target population having received a first dose so far.”
The IMF noted that price inflation reached 5.6 percent in December 2021, reflecting mainly a surge in global prices, before declining somewhat to 4.5 percent in March.
“The overall fiscal deficit reached 5.1 percent of GDP in 2021 – ½ percent of GDP lower than anticipated in the budget – mainly owing to gains from strengthened tax administration and ongoing digitalization efforts, which in turn offset higher security spending,” said Ricci.
The reason South Africa is pulling out all the stops to welcome Quattara was the warm reception his country gave to Ramaphosa.
During the visit to Côte d’Ivoire Ramaphosa was also honoured with the status of chieftaincy by Robert Beugré Mambé, the governor of the Autonomous District of Abidjan, in Côte d’Ivoire.
The South African President was also presented with Ivorian traditional garb and given the name Dwasaho, which means The Great Warrior.
“It is given to a very wise and smart warrior who has the ability to speak and has the determination to see and follow the values of Nelson Mandela,” explained Mambé.
In addition, Ramaphosa was granted the key to the city, an honour bestowed upon esteemed residents and visitors.
After being dressed in his chieftaincy garb. Ramaphosa said: This ceremony giving me this robe is wonderful.
“I never thought in my life that I would wear a crown, but I never thought that I would also wear a necklace with an elephant.
“An elephant is a totem of my family, so thank you for giving me a totem of my family.
Now this in many ways also proves our common ancestry.
“I feel very connected to the people of Côte d’Ivoire because we know that we as Africans who are in the south originated in this part of Africa. We are one of you.”
To further cement relations, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa signed 9 Memorandums of Agreement to deepen trade and investment during Ramaphosa’s visit.
The historic pacts cover various areas of cooperation.
Commenting on the MOAs, Cote dIvoires ambassador to South Africa Sakaria Kone said: “This is a massive achievement, and we are going to take it further and further for the benefit of our two countries and our people.”
Kone added: “6 more MOAs are will be signed during the visit to South Africa. Obviously one can only be happy and excited about this development.
“Also, this is going to be an opportunity to reinforce further the relationship between South Africa and Cote dIvoire, increasing trade and putting together business communities, so that we can enhance our trade.”
With just a fortnight to Ouattara’s visit, South Africa is not only planning to roll out the red carpet but will also welcome the Côte d’Ivoire leader in warm and unique ways
