Korea IT Times interviewed EKRA Kouassi Florent, Ambassador of Cote d'lvoire, to learn about the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire on the occassion of the independence day, which falls on August 7, 2010. Through the interview, we are able to take a look at Côte d'Ivoire's history, politics and economy.
Introduction of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is a country located in West Africa that borders the Atlantic Ocean in the South, Mali and Burkina Faso in the North, Ghana in the East, and Liberia and Guinea in the West. The political and administrative capital of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is Yamoussoukro, while Abidjan is the economic capital. The country's total population is 19 million people and their official language is French.
Political Background
The country has a multiparty political system with a presidential regime. There is the President of the Republic, 175 Members of the National Assemby, the Mayors and the President of Regional Councils who are all elected for 5 year terms. The major political parties are FPI (The Ivorian Popular Front), PDCI (Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire) and RDR(Republicans Rally).
Historical Background
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire's history dates back to March 10, 1893, when it became a French colony. Starting from 1904-1958, the Colony of Côte d'Ivoire was part of the Federation of French Western Africa with it's headquarters located in Dakar, Senegal. On December 4th, 1956, following the "Loi Cadre," also known as the Overseas Reform Act, the Colony of Côte d'Ivoire was proclaimed the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. However, it still remained a member of the French community. This Overseas Reform Act transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments of colonies from the Federation of French Western Africa. 4 years later, on August 7, 1960, the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire acquired independence from the French.
Economic Background
The economy of the country relies on agriculture, agro-allied industries and import substitution manufacturing. Some of it's main productions include cocoa, coffee, rubber, pineapple, palm oil and bananas. In the mining sector, the country has gold, diamond, manganese, iron ore, offshore oil and natural gas deposits. The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire accounts for 41 percent of the combined GDP of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), which has a total of 8 member countries. Some of the major overseas trading partners include the European Union, the United States and ECOWAS Member States. There are also trade relations with Korea. From 2004-2006, the trade exchange between Korea and the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire was about 60 million USD. By 2008, it reached 110 million USD and decreased slightly to 95 million USD in 2009. Some exports the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire sends to Korea include cocoa, timber and oil, while Korea imports fishing products, garment items, pharmaceutical products, books trades, plastics, rubber, cars, chemical products, textile fibers, clinker, machines, electronics, road building equipments and transport equipments into Côte d'Ivoire.
