The Minister of Trade and Industry, Souleymane Diarrassouba, chaired on Monday, March 2, 2020, the opening ceremony of the 3rd India-Côte d'Ivoire Business Forum, at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d'Ivoire, at the Plateau. On the occasion, he recalled the business opportunities in Côte d'Ivoire. "Business opportunities in Côte d'Ivoire are numerous, in all sectors of activity, thanks to the vision of President Alassane Ouattara," he said.

Thus, at the level of agro-industry, it is a question of significantly improving, with the support of the private sector, the levels of processing of agricultural products, in particular cashew nuts, cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber, fruits and vegetables, etc. and to achieve, in the short and medium term, processing rates ranging from 25% to 50% depending on the sector.

As far as non-agricultural manufacturing industries are concerned, it is a question of developing structuring industries relating to metallurgy and steelmaking, chemicals; consumer products for regional demand for textiles, packaging, plastics and medicines; light manufacturing industries, with assembly and assembly industries, in particular the automotive industry and equipment manufacturing.

To support industrial development, Minister Souleymane Diarrassouba spoke of the potential for the development of economic infrastructure in Côte d'Ivoire. These include roads, railways, airports, ports, platforms, transport equipment, storage and conservation equipment; thermal power plants, hydroelectric dams and solar panels, for energy-related issues. Added to this are Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), with the development of digital, robotics and artificial intelligence to support industry 4.0 and e-commerce and finally, industrial zones in Abidjan and the interior of the country.

"In terms of trade development, the promotion of e-commerce presents itself as an opportunity to boost relations between India and Côte d'Ivoire. The Government encourages the development of win-win partnerships with the Ivorian private sector and technology transfer, as well as the mobilization of competitive financing instruments to promote investment and FDI between our two countries," added the Minister of Trade and Industry.

Continuing, he argued that investing in Côte d'Ivoire means having as markets the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with about 350 million consumers and an emerging middle class; the United States of America (USA), through AGOA; the European Union (EU), through the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs); the African Union (AU), with 1.3 billion consumers, through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is being implemented.

Recalling that this Forum is part of the actions of the Government of Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly to promote the development of the private sector in Côte d'Ivoire, with a view to making massive investments capable of generating strong economic growth, Supported and sustainable to accelerate the structural transformation of the Ivorian economy, he welcomed the fact that India remains an important economic partner of Côte d'Ivoire.

"Indeed, according to foreign trade statistics, in 2018, trade between our two countries reached 569 billion FCFA against 457 billion FCFA in 2017, an increase of 24.5%. India was Côte d'Ivoire's 8th largest customer and 4th largest supplier in 2018. By opening a Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Côte d'Ivoire, India marks a significant presence of its private sector in Côte d'Ivoire and aims to double its trade with our country," he noted.