Abidjan, 4 April – President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella is in Abidjan. Welcoming the Head of State was the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara. After the welcoming ceremony and military honors, the two presidents had a conversation followed by statements to the press. The first to speak was President Ouattara who reiterated his thanks to Mattarella for the welcome given to him and his wife in 2022 during their visit to Italy. During this visit, the Côte d’Ivoire president stressed, various topics of common interest were touched upon with the aim of improving relations with Italy. He went on to emphasize the dynamism and strengthening of relations between the two countries in recent years; trade has increased by 23 percent and some 80 Italian companies have set up in Côte d’Ivoire. “We would also like to encourage Italian companies to engage in cocoa and cashew processing,” Ouattara said. Closing his speech, the president of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire touched on the issue of immigration: “We are fighting against irregular migration to Italy,” Ouattara said. “I applauded the firm resolve of the Italian government headed by Meloni to revive relations with the African continent. The Mattei plan has been launched in our country regarding education, vocational training, and then health energy water and infrastructure.” IDA attendance.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)