President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’ Ivoire, on Wednesday evening for a two-day State Visit which will see the signing of bilateral agreements between the two countries.
Upon arrival at the Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, the President was welcomed by his Ivorian counterpart, President Alassane Ouattara at a welcome ceremony and then proceeded to the presidential pavilion for a meeting.
The visit to Côte d’Ivoire follows a successful State Visit to the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 30 November 2021, which was marked by the 10th Session of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) between Nigeria and South Africa.
“President Ramaphosa’s State Visit to Cote d’Ivoire is historic and significant in that it will be the first State Visit between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations in the early 1990s,” the Presidency said in a statement.
The visit comes at a time when the two countries are consolidating a list of strategic areas of cooperation across various economic and social sectors.
Today, President Ramaphosa and President Ouattara are expected to preside over official talks before the signing of memoranda of understanding and agreement on political consultation, defence cooperation, agriculture, youth development, information and communication technologies, energy and mines, petroleum and energy and employment.
President Ramaphosa is expected to be presented with honorary citizenship of the Autonomous District of Abidjan. President Ouattara will bestow on President Ramaphosa Côte d’Ivoire’s distinguished Order of the Dignity of the Grand Cross.
On Friday, President Ramaphosa will undertake a tour of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan before addressing the Côte d’Ivoire-South Africa Business Forum.
To conclude the state visit in Cote d’Ivoire, the two Heads of State and MTN Group Chief Executive Mr Ralph Mupita will symbolically lay the foundation stone for the new headquarters of MTN in Côte d’Ivoire. –SAnews.gov.za
