The Hindu Business Line : India, Ivory Coast to expand bilateral trade

Strong ties
From India's energy security viewpoint, Ivory Coast was emerging as an important destination for co-operation in hydrocarbon exploration.
Both countries could cooperate in new areas such as pharmaceuticals, transport, water supply and telecommunications.

New Delhi , Aug. 4

India and Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) must expand bilateral trade as the existing trade amounting to $350 million was largely dominated by rice, cashew and wood products, which account for 80 per cent of the aggregate trade volume, the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, said here today.

Addressing the second Joint Trade Commission meeting here after a gap of nine years, Mr Ramesh highlighted the emerging trends in bilateral trade, with Indian companies having announced investment of the order of $1 billion to be made in Cote d' Ivoire in the next five years.

Terming this as both "remarkable and unusual", Mr Ramesh said the unusual part was that in the last 10 years, Indian companies have made investment announcement of $10 billion all over the world and the commitment to Cote d'Ivoire alone represents a little at 10 per cent to be spread over in five years. He said most of the investment would be in minerals, manganese, chrome and iron ore. He said in view of the focus shifting to investment, the joint commission could be renamed as Joint Trade and Investment Commission.

From India's energy security viewpoint, Cote d'Ivoire was emerging as an important destination for co-operation in hydrocarbon exploration, even as the domestic national oil company had committed investment in Ivory Coast in the past and was looking at expanding operation, he said.

Mr Ramesh said that 95 per cent of the world diamond comes or goes through India, the world's largest cutter/polisher of rough diamond. He said India was keen on giving a concrete offer to help establish a "strategic partnership" with Cote d'Ivoire to develop diamond mining/cutting/polishing, which would offer employment to the local population.

He said that he would try his best to help set up an information technology park in Cote d'Ivoire as desired by their leaders to be named after Mahatma Gandhi. He said both countries could cooperate in new areas such as pharmaceuticals, transport, water supply and telecommunications.

Mr Youssouf Bakayo, Minster of External Affairs; Mr Moussa Dosso, Minister of Commerce; Mr Monnet Leon Emmuel, Minister of Mines and Energy; Mr Kobena Innocent, Minister of Transport and Mr Andoh Jacques, Minister of Environment, Water and Forest, represented the Cote d'Ivoire side.