PHOTO OF THE DAY: Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire calls on ACP chief

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire calls on ACP chief

The Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, H.E Daniel Kablan Duncan presents gift of appreciation to ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick Gomes.

Brussels, 29 April 2015/ ACP: A delegation headed by the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mr. Daniel Kablan Duncan met with executives at the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group headquarters in Brussels this morning, to reinforce ties with the 79-member organisation and discuss various development issues.

The ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick Gomes welcomed the Ivorian Head of Government, who is also Minister of Economy, Finance and Budget, highlighting three major areas for joint attention. This includes the development of Small and Medium Enterprises and Industries (SMEs/ SMIs), especially in terms of programming 11th European Development Fund (EDF) for ACP countries, the promotion of value addition for primary export products such as cocoa, and the advancement of South-South and Triangular Cooperation. On this issue, the ACP Group will be holding a symposium on South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the course of the year.

The Secretary General also raised the issue of ebola in the West African region and the ACP Group’s focus on health systems strengthening.

The Prime Minister underscored that SMEs/SMIs account for 80% of enterprises in Côte d'Ivoire, but only 18% of the national output in GDP. The Government plans to increase this to 40% by the year 2020. He actively supported the efforts to add value to primary exports such as cocoa, of which Côte d’Ivoire produces 40% of the global supply, as well as developing natural resources in other ACP countries to create high quality products.

Prime Minister Duncan added that the country has made substantial progress over the last three years, in the areas of peace and security, national reconstruction and economic development. The Ivoirian economy has been growing at an average of 9% per year since 2012, with aims to become an emerging economy by 2020.

In concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Duncan presented a gift of appreciation to the ACP Secretary General, and welcomed their continued cooperation. He emphasised the common vision and common development approach the country shares with the ACP Group on the issue of sustainable development.

Also attending the meeting were senior members of the ACP Secretariat, including Assistant Secretary General for Sustainable Economic Development and Trade, Mr. Viwanou Gnassounou, Acting Assistant Secretary General for Macroeconomics, Development Finance and Intra-ACP Programming Mr. Paulo Kautoke, and the Chef de Cabinet Mr. Mamour Alieu Jagne.