Summary: February 26, 2004: Commissioner Nielson meets Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire Seydou Diarra (Brussels)
Commissioner for development assistance and humanitarian aid Poul Nielson today met Mr. Seydou Diarra, Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire. Nielson congratulated Diarra on the considerable progress that had been achieved in the Ivorian peace process and encouraged him to persevere and pursue the process.
President Gbagbo had recently announced the summoning of the Parliament for an extraordinary session to discuss the bills provided by the Marcoussis Agreement. Diarra had recently announced that the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Repatriation (DDR) process would begin on 8th of March.
While both these announcements were encouraging Nielson stressed that it was necessary for Côte d'Ivoire to demonstrate clear irreversibility towards national reconciliation. Real progress on both these issues would be important before initiating the implementation of activities foreseen in the Country strategy for Côte d'Ivoire under the 9th European Development Fund.
Meanwhile the European Commission was already actively engaged in supporting a swift rehabilitation in Côte d'Ivoire. € 53,2 million had already been made available since the signing of the Marcoussis agreement for emergency rehabilitation and peace keeping. The European Commission will shortly be finalising a decision regarding an additional € 25 million for a second post-conflict rehabilitation programme. Approximately € 400 million have been allocated to Côte d'Ivoire in
the EDF.
Nielson and Diarra also discussed regional integration. Nielson welcomed the recent initiation of negotiations between the EU and West Africa on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Côte d'Ivoire was encouraged to promote regional integration and to assume an active role in ensuring that West Africa realise the full developmental potential of the EPA.
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