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Canada - Côte d'Ivoire Relations

Canada and Côte d'Ivoire established diplomatic relations in 1962. In Côte d'Ivoire, Canada has been represented by the Canadian Embassy in Abidjan since 1970. Côte d'Ivoire has been represented in Canada by an Embassy in Ottawa since 1972.

Bilateral relations between Canada and Côte d'Ivoire are close and cordial. The two countries often collaborate within the United Nations and La Francophonie. Since the normalization of the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, several high-level visits have contributed to revitalizing our relations: the visit to Abidjan by the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (Francophonie) in June 2012; the visit to Montreal by the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, His Excellency Jeannot Ahoussou Kouadio, and the Minister of State, Minister of Industry, Moussa Dosso, on the occasion of the Forum of the Americas in June 2012 and the visit to Québec by the President of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire, His Excellency Guillaume Soro, on the occasion of the General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Union (IPU) in October 2012.   

Canada has supported the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI) since its creation in 2004. Nine police officers, mainly from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), are currently deployed to UNOCI.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) terminated its bilateral cooperation program in Côte d'Ivoire in 2010 but still operates in the country through multilateral regional programs and programs of Canadian Partnership (including the Francophonie Scholarship program). CIDA equally gives its support to refugees and displaced persons by helping to finance programs of the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade finance local development projects and the promotion of democracy and human rights.

Côte d'Ivoire represents 40% of GNP of the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA) and is the second largest economy in West Africa after Nigeria. Canadian investments in Côte d'Ivoire are substantial in the oil and mining sectors. In 2011, trade was around $650 million, including $20.4 million in exports (mainly pulp, grain and machinery) and $629.4 million in imports (mainly raw agricultural products and minerals). Canada and Côte d'Ivoire signed a Double Taxation Agreement in June 1983 and in April 2012 began negotiations for the signing of a Promotion and Protection of Foreign Investments Agreement (FIPA). In August 2012, Canada announced the cancellation of Côte d'Ivoire's $130 million debt as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and the Canadian Debt Relief Program.

 March 2013 

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Date Modified:
2013-03-13