President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to host President Alassane Ouattara of the Federal Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on an official State visit on Friday.
This will be a reciprocal visit by President Ouattara following President Ramaphosa’s visit to the West African country in December last year.
The Presidency said during the visit, the two countries will hold bilateral discussions, witness the signing of a number of agreements and address a business forum.
“South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire enjoy close political, economic, social and cultural ties. Bilateral relations between the two countries are managed through the Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC), established in December 2015, as a structured bilateral mechanism to facilitate political, economic, social, cultural, scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries.
“Since the establishment of the JCC, nine Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and Agreements have been signed between the two countries in sectors such as agriculture, mining, transport, telecommunications and defence. During the State visit, the two countries aim to sign additional agreements to further strengthen bilateral relations,” the Presidency said.
Despite the economic hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade between South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire has increased by some R774 million since 2019, reaching at least R2 billion in 2021.