Abuja – Mrs Kone Toure, Cote d’Ivoire Ambassador to Nigeria, says Nigeria remains strategic to her country, being the biggest trade partner in Africa and third globally.
Toure spoke in Abuja during the celebration of Cote d’Ivoire’s 55th Independence Day.
She said the rapid expansion of the Ivorian economy was mainly due to its excellent relations with its multilateral and bilateral partners, among them Nigeria.
The envoy also called for the sustenance of the age-long cordial political relationship between Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
The ambassador also noted that reforms carried out by the government made Cote d’Ivoire a more attractive destination to foreign investments.
“This attractive environment favours the establishment of world famous financial institutions such as the European Bank of Investment (EBI), African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Abidjan,’’ Toure noted.
She said that others included Nigeria’s United Bank of Africa (UBA), Diamond Bank, the German banking group (Commerzbank) and Standard Bank of South Africa, among others.
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Toure said that the near realisation of the Abidjan – Lagos highway was an important project to the Ivorian and Nigerian governments, as well as a major factor of integration for the ECOWAS region.
“I will also like to greet the Nigerian authorities for their support, which allowed Cote d’Ivoire to secure the headquarters of the ECOWAS Regional Maritime Centre for Coordination,’’ she added. (NAN)
