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 Canada |  Ivory Coast |
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Canada and Ivory Coast established diplomatic relations in 1962. In addition to their bilateral relations, both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
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Canada | Ivory Coast |
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Canada and Ivory Coast established diplomatic relations in 1962. In addition to their bilateral relations, both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Canada and Ivory Coast shared a brief common history in the fact that both nations were once part of the French colonial empire. During that time period, many Black Canadians today trace their ancestry to West Africa as their ancestors were brought directly to Canada as slaves by the French West India Company or brought in from the United States by traders. [1] During World War II, both nations had troops fight in the Battle of France and in the Italian Campaign (soldiers from Ivory Coast were part of the French colonial empire's army).
In August 1960, Ivory Coast obtained its independence from France. In 1962, both Canada and Ivory Coast established diplomatic relations. [2] In August 1967, Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny paid an official visit to Canada and met with Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. [3] In 1970 Canada opened an embassy in Abidjan and in 1972, Ivory Coast reciprocated the gesture by opening an embassy in Ottawa. [2]
As a result of the First Ivorian Civil War; in May 2005, Canada issued sanctions against Ivory Coast following the decision by the United Nations Security Council in response to continued conflict within the country. [4] Canada's economic sanctions against Ivory Coast included:
In January 2011, during the Second Ivorian Civil War, President Laurent Gbagbo ordered the expulsion of the Canadian ambassador from the country. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that he would not recognize the expulsion of the ambassador by President Gbagbo as Canada "doesn't recognize the current regime's claim to government, and therefore doesn't recognize its orders for Canadian diplomats to leave.". [6] Canada had earlier asked Ivorian diplomats to leave Ottawa in protest to Gbagbo's refusal to cede power after he lost the November 28th, 2010 presidential run-off to Alassane Ouattara.
In 2012, Canada forgave $130-million in debt owed by Ivory Coast as part of an international effort to forgive billions in Ivorian debt as international players judge that President Alassane Ouattara is making headway in turning the country's finances and governance around. [7] In 2016, Ivorian President Ouattara paid an official visit to Canada and met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. [8]
High-level visits from Canada to Ivory Coast [9]
High-level visits from Ivory Coast to Canada [8]
Both nations have signed a few bilateral agreements, such as an Agreement on the Avoidance of Double-Taxation (1983); Air Transportation Agreement (1987) and an Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investment (2015). [2] From 2016 to 2017, the total of Canadian development assistance for Ivory Coast was $19.9 million. [2]
In 2017, trade between Canada and Ivory Coast totaled US$358.4 million. [2] Canadian main exports include: air and motor vehicles and related parts; cereals (mainly wheat); machinery; fertilizers; electric and electronic equipment; scientific and precision instruments; and meat. Ivory Coasts main exports include: oil; cocoa; rubber and rubber products; fruits and nuts; wood and wood products; and canned goods (fruits and vegetables). [2]
Human arrival in Ivory Coast has been dated to the Upper Paleolithic period, or at the minimum, the Neolithic period based on weapon and tool fragments, specifically polished shale axes and remnants of cooking and fishing. The earliest known inhabitants of Côte d'Ivoire left traces scattered throughout the territory. Historians believe these people were all either displaced or absorbed by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. Peoples who arrived before the 16th century include the Ehotilé (Aboisso), Kotrowou (Fresco), Zéhiri, Ega, and Diès (Divo).
Côte d'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast, and officially as the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 30.9 million inhabitants in 2023, Ivory Coast is the third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 different languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and traditional faiths like Animism.
Koudou Laurent Gbagbo is an Ivorian politician who was the president of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A historian, Gbagbo was imprisoned in the early 1970s and again in the early 1990s, and he lived in exile in France during much of the 1980s as a result of his union activism. Gbagbo founded the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) in 1982 and ran unsuccessfully for president against Félix Houphouët-Boigny at the start of multi-party politics in 1990. He won a seat in the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire in 1990.
Aimé Henri Konan Bédié was an Ivorian politician. He was President of Côte d'Ivoire from 1993 to 1999, and formerly President of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA). Prior to becoming president, he was a member and president of the National Assembly of Ivory Coast. He unsuccessfully sought another term as president in the 2020 presidential election.
The First Ivorian Civil War was a civil conflict in the Ivory Coast that began with a military rebellion on 19 September 2002 and ended with a peace agreement on 4 March 2007. The conflict pitted the government of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo against a domestic insurgency led by the New Forces of Ivory Coast. Following the war, a second civil war (2010–2011) would begin over the results of the 2010 Ivorian presidential election.
Alassane Dramane Ouattara is an Ivorian politician and economist who has been President of Ivory Coast since 2010. An economist by profession, he worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Bank of West African States, and was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from November 1990 to December 1993, appointed to that post by then-President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Ouattara became the President of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR), an Ivorian political party, in 1999.
The Ivorian Popular Front is a centre-left, democratic socialist and social democratic political party in Ivory Coast.
Opération Licorne was a French Armed Forces peacekeeping operation in support of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire. The French forces had been stationed in the country since shortly after the outbreak of the Ivorian Civil War. The troops' main mission was to support the United Nations peacekeeping mission and to ensure the security of French and foreign nationals.
The 1999 Ivorian coup d'état took place on 24 December 1999. It was the first coup d'état since the independence of Ivory Coast and led to the President Henri Konan Bédié being deposed.
The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the crisis in Ivory Coast escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Ivory Coast since 2000, and supporters of the internationally recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara. After months of unsuccessful negotiations and sporadic violence between supporters of the two sides, the crisis entered a critical stage as Ouattara's forces seized control of most of the country with the help of the UN, with Gbagbo entrenched in Abidjan, the country's largest city. International organizations have reported numerous instances of human rights violations by both sides, in particular in the city of Duékoué where Ouattara's forces killed hundreds of people. Overall casualties of the war are estimated around 3000. The UN and French forces took military action, with the stated objective to protect their forces and civilians. France's forces arrested Gbagbo at his residence on 11 April 2011.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975, adopted unanimously on March 30, 2011, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, including resolutions 1572 (2004), 1893 (2009), 1911 (2010), 1924 (2010), 1933 (2010), 1942 (2010), 1946 (2010), 1951 (2010), 1962 (2010), 1967 (2011) and 1968 (2011), the Council demanded that Laurent Gbagbo step down as President and imposed sanctions on him and his close associates.
The following lists events that happened during 2010 in Ivory Coast.
The following lists events that happened during 2011 in Ivory Coast.
The Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace is a political party in Ivory Coast.
Augustin Abdoulaye Thiam Houphouët is an Ivorian politician. Since 2011, he has been the governor of the Yamoussoukro Autonomous District.
Anne Jacqueline Oble, also known as Jacqueline Lohoues-Oble, is an Ivorian lawyer and politician who was the first woman to stand as a candidate in a presidential election.
Aboudramane Sangaré, also spelled Abou Drahamane Sangaré, was an Ivorian politician and co-founder of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) political party. He served as Foreign Minister of Ivory Coast from October 2000 to March 2003 under President Laurent Gbagbo, a close political ally. Sangare was president of a dissident, pro-Gbagbo faction of Ivorian Popular Front members at the time of his death in 2018.
Events in the year 2020 in Ivory Coast.
This period in the history of Ivory Coast was affected by the end of the 33-year reign of Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1993, as well as demographic change which had seen the Muslim population rise from 6% in 1922 to 38.6% in 1998, including a majority in the north of the country.
France–Ivory Coast relations are the diplomatic relations between the French Republic and the Republic of Ivory Coast. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the United Nations.
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