OREANDA-NEWS. October 12, 2015.The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, held talks with Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire. 

President Ouattara acknowledged the Bank’s strong support of C?te d’Ivoire’s development programme alongside other partners. He set out the priorities of his Government, which will focus on industrial processing, value addition for exported agricultural products, universal access to energy with the target of powering all villages with more than 500 inhabitants, and regional integration, particularly within the Economic Community of West African States.

President Ouattara recognised the commitment of the new AfDB management to support agricultural development in Cote d’Ivoire, as production continues to be characterized by a low level of local processing. He stressed the importance of putting in place policies and structures capable of boosting investments and creating an enabling environment for increased value addition for primary products in the sector.

Adesina thanked President Ouattara for his strong support for the Bank, which greatly facilitated the return of the organisation and its staff to its headquarters in Abidjan. He also expressed his gratitude to President Ouattara for his counsel. He reaffirmed the Bank’s willingness to further strengthen its support to the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire over the 2016-2017 period. A solid pipeline of projects is being prepared, including the Abidjan–Lagos road corridor which will improve regional integration.

Albert Toikeusse Mabri, the Minister of State for Planning and Development and the AfDB Governor for Cote d’Ivoire, stated that Ministerial and AfDB teams are working collaboratively on an important programme to finance the transport sector, particularly road programmes.