Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative Opens Permanent Office

By Nana Yaw Reuben Jr. On Apr 20, 2024

GRAPHIC ONLINE

President Nana Akufo-Addo has commissioned the headquarters of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Co-operation Initiative (CIGCI) Secretariat Building in Accra, situated at Roman Ridge, a suburb of Accra.

The president urged the two countries to effectively collaborate and build on the alliance with renewed determination and optimism.

“As we launch this initiative and commission this permanent headquarters, we are reminded of the common challenges we face; we must allow a determination to foster solutions as we march forward,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo also said that the headquarters project was not the limit to their mutual achievements but a major step towards reaching greater heights as envisaged in the strategic partnership agreements between the two countries.

President Akufo-Addo further said that the edifice did not only signify what regional unity and cooperation could achieve but also represented the shared aspiration for a prosperous cocoa economy, which was modernised, industrialised and delivered wealth to the millions of hardworking cocoa farmers and producers in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

“We are, through this cooperation, creating the opportunity to revolutionise the cocoa supply chain for the delivery of greater value to our economies,” he added.

The Ivorian Prime Minister, Robert Beugre Mambe, who represented the President of Cote d’Ivoire, said the collaboration will help eradicate all forms of child labour in the two countries.

He said he is convinced that this Initiative will make significant future advances in the cocoa sector.

“I would like to thank the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group for the important financial support provided for the equipment of the new headquarters of the Secretariat of the Initiative as well as for the capacity building of its staff.

“I would like, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E.M. Alassane Ouattara, to express the wish that this architectural jewel that we are inaugurating today, will be the centre of impetus for strategic watch,” he added.

The Executive Secretary of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Co-operation Initiative (CIGCI) Secretariat, Alex Assanvo, said the initiative reaffirmed the vision to put the producer back at the centre of the cocoa value chain for better remuneration.

He said the CIGCI was another example of how the two countries, through their respective Heads of State, could overcome challenges.

For his part, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, said the institution was now a well-recognised player in the cocoa sector which was helping in its growth through price stability, regulations and market outlook.

Dr. Acheampong, who is also the Chairman of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Steering Committee, said the initiative, which started as a convener, is now an agenda setter, paving the way in discussions on price and living income for cocoa farmers in the two countries.