Home Communiqués des ministres COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 02 JULY 2025

COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 02 JULY 2025

On Wednesday 02 July 2025, a Council of Ministers was held from 11:00 to 13:30, at the Palais de la Présidence de la République in Abidjan, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Mr Alassane OUATTARA, President of the Republic, Head of State.

The deliberations of the Council focused on the following points:

A/-General measures,

B/-Individual measures

C/-Communications

D/-Miscellaneous

A/- GENERAL MEASURES

BILLS AND ORDINANCES

The Council adopted a draft law on the ratification of the Agreement establishing the African Energy Bank (AEB), signed on 04 June 2024.

The creation of the African Energy Bank was initiated in 2022 by the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The agreement provides for an initial capital of five (5) billion US dollars, dedicated to financing energy projects and infrastructure in Africa.

Ratification of the agreement creating the BAE will enable our country to benefit from the bank’s support for the orderly and successful deployment of the national strategy for the transition to sustainable energy sources.

The Council adopted an ordinance amending Article 803 of Law No. 2017-442 of 30 June 2017 on the Maritime Code and the related ratification bill.

This ordinance brings the Maritime Code, in particular the definition of shipowner in national legislation, into line with EU provisions.

Thus, in accordance with WAEMU regulations on the subject, only duly constituted legal entities, to the exclusion of natural persons, may operate as shipowners in Côte d’Ivoire.

DRAFT DECREES

The Council adopted two (02) decrees:

These exploration licences are issued in accordance with the required technical and environmental conditions. They are valid for four (04) years.

The Council adopted a decree approving the concession agreement for the design, financing, implementation, operation and maintenance of the digital vehicle registration management system, the supply, security and installation of number plates and the management of re-registration and post-registration centres, entitled “DIGIMMAT Integrated System”, its specifications and annexes.

The public service concession agreement relating to the DIGIMAT integrated system was signed in May 2023 with Société Express Multi Services Côte d’Ivoire (EMU-CI), with a view to remedying the malfunctions associated with the manufacture, supply and fitting of number plates.

Following the conclusive results observed at the end of the pilot phase, this decree definitively approves the public service concession agreement for vehicle registration and plate fitting in Côte d’Ivoire signed with EMU-CI.

The Council adopted a decree amending Article 4 of Decree No. 2020-45 of 15 January 2020 creating an International Register for the Registration of Ships.

This amending decree inserts into Article 4 of the aforementioned decree the conditions for granting the concession to manage the International Ship Registry.

Accordingly, only duly constituted legal entities with proven experience in flag management and which undertake to promote the recruitment of Ivorian seafarers may benefit from this type of public service concession agreement.

The Council adopted a decree amending Article 2 of Decree No. 2017-635 of 04 October 2017 laying down the composition, procedures for appointing members, jurisdiction, organisation and operation of the Maritime and Port Affairs Disciplinary Board.

This decree specifies the procedures for appointing certain members of the Maritime and Port Affairs Disciplinary Board, with a view to making the operation of this body more dynamic.

Thus, in order to become a member of the Disciplinary Board, the representative of the Administrateurs des Affaires Maritimes et Portuaires, the representative of the Officiers des Affaires Maritimes et Portuaires, the representative of the Contrôleurs des Affaires Maritimes et Portuaires and the representative of the Agents de Police Maritime must be chosen from among the most senior in the highest grade in their respective corps.

B/- INDIVIDUAL MEASURES

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Ivorians Living Abroad;

The Council adopted a decree appointing Mrs Nogozene BAKAYOKO, Ambassador,3rd echelon, Matricule 303.643-N, currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to the Republic of Italy, as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to the Republic of Bulgaria, with residence in Rome, Italy.

The Council also approved the appointment of Mr RAZAALY Irchad as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the European Union to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, with residence in Abidjan.

C/- COMMUNICATIONS

The Council adopted a communication on the report of the mission led by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, to Luanda (Angola), as part of the United States-Africa Business Summit, from 22 to 25 June 2025.

A high-level delegation, led by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Minister for Sport and the Living Environment, took part in this meeting held under the theme: “Pathways to Prosperity: A Shared Vision of Partnership between the United States and Africa”.

In the current context of refocusing US trade policies, the Prime Minister and the African leaders present seized the opportunity of this platform to defend their position within the preferential trade arrangements, so as to preserve their access to the US market and attract more foreign direct investment in key sectors such as agriculture, energy, digital and infrastructure.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Prime Minister held talks with His Excellency João Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola, on strengthening Ivorian-Angolan cooperation. On this occasion, the two statesmen welcomed the signing of the agreement on air services, which marks the forthcoming opening of direct Luanda-Abidjan flights from August 2025. The Prime Minister also held talks with a delegation from the US administration, during which the two parties agreed on possible changes to the AGOA system, future tariff adjustments, and visa restrictions for entry into the United States.

The Council adopted two (02) communications:

This project is part of the implementation of the National Policy on Continuing Training for Civil Servants and State Employees. It covers all schools, institutes and training centres for civil servants and government employees, and covers both the training of new employees and that of existing employees, with the aim of improving the match between the skills of civil servants and the needs of public administrations.

The project is due to be launched in July and will run for ten (10) months.

It shows that over the period July to December 2024, OSEP recorded 1,826 concerns from user-customers, an increase of 41.2% compared with the first half of 2024. Of the concerns recorded over the period, 81% were complaints, 12% motions and 7% suggestions.

Overall, the analysis of user-customer concerns over the second half of 2024 shows significant progress in all sectors of public activity, but also persistent challenges linked essentially to delays and slowness in issuing administrative acts or documents.

To overcome these challenges, the Council insisted in particular on stepping up the ongoing programme to digitise administrative procedures, and the creation of Quality Departments in the various Ministries, to work constantly to improve the quality of public services.

The Council adopted a communication on the initial report of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

This initial report is part of the Government’s efforts to implement the international commitments to which our country has sovereignly subscribed.

In accordance with the guidelines of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the report was drawn up following a participatory process, involving the various stakeholders involved in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights in our country.

It also benefited from the technical support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in particular the contribution of the Regional Office for West Africa.

Overall, the report provides specific information on the application, in law and in fact, of articles 1 to 15 of the Covenant, from its ratification by our country to date, and presents the concrete measures adopted to guarantee the full exercise of the rights enshrined in the Covenant.

The Council adopted three (03) communications:

It notes that at the end of the first quarter of 2025, the implementation of the State Budget was characterised by relatively satisfactory mobilisation of revenue and good control of the implementation of budget expenditure, which was contained within the forecasts.

The resources mobilised to finance the State Budget at the end of March 2025 totalled 3,707 billion CFA francs against a forecast of 3,200.7 billion CFA francs, representing an implementation rate of 115.8%.

The resources realised include 1,647.8 billion CFA francs of budget revenue made up of tax revenue, non-tax revenue and donations, and 2,059.2 billion CFA francs of cash resources.

Expenditure totalled CFAF 3,600.3 billion against a forecast of CFAF 3,241.6 billion, representing an implementation rate of 111.1%.

Investment expenditure in particular was implemented at 640.8 billion CFA francs against a forecast of 781.4 billion CFA francs, representing an implementation rate of 82%. Expenditure on the fight against poverty and the reduction of social disparities, as well as specific social expenditure, amounted to 898 billion CFA francs and 283.1 billion CFA francs respectively at the end of March 2025, above the minimum targets of 844.8 billion CFA francs and 244 billion CFA francs respectively.

It indicates that at the end of March 2025, tax and customs exemptions generated costs estimated at XOF 129.2 billion compared with XOF 136.9 billion at the end of March 2024, a reduction of XOF 7.7 billion. This reduction in the amount of exemptions is mainly due to the drop in benefits linked to government projects and those granted to mining and oil companies.

The sectors that benefited the most from the exemptions were mainly Industry and Services, with respective costs of 46 billion CFA francs, or 35.6% of the total amount of exemptions, and 27.4 billion CFA francs, or 21.2% of the total amount of exemptions.

The criteria for granting total or partial VAT exemptions have been determined in accordance with the relevant WAEMU Community provisions. There are four (04) of these criteria, namely the types of goods and services, the turnover of businesses, the distributive nature of the exemption and the compatibility of the tax expenditure with the plan to rationalise exemptions adopted by the Government in March 2019.

As part of the rationalisation and control of tax expenditure in general, and that linked to State agreements in particular, the granting of tax benefits is now limited solely to these criteria and to agreements relating to projects in the priority sectors defined by the Government.

Consequently, operations benefiting from partial or total exemptions that do not comply with the above-mentioned criteria will be cancelled and withdrawn.

It follows that agreements and other documents concluded by ministries and State bodies that include tax clauses will have to be signed jointly by the technical Minister concerned and the Minister in charge of the Budget, as well as a prior order by the Minister in charge of the Budget determining the terms and conditions for implementing the tax and customs regime granted.

The Council adopted a communication on the Immersion Internship Programme or “Holiday Jobs”: Assessment of the 2023 and 2024 editions and launch of the 2025 edition for the benefit of 50,000 young people.

The aim of the Immersion Internship Programme is to offer pupils and students aged 16 and over a month’s initial work experience during the school and university holidays, in order to help them refine their academic and career choices, while offering them an internship bonus of 45,000 CFA francs.

The Immersion Internship is carried out in the administration or in public or private companies. It is aimed specifically at pupils in the second cycle of general education, technical and vocational education, and students at universities and grandes écoles.

Over the period 2023 and 2024, 32,423 pupils and students benefited from this programme at a total cost of 1.46 billion CFA francs.

For 2025, 50,000 pupils and students will benefit from immersion courses or holiday jobs, starting in mid-July, at a total cost of 2.250 billion CFA francs.

From 2026 onwards, given the success of previous editions and the enthusiasm of pupils and students for the Immersion Internship Programme, the Board has decided to raise the annual target for the programme to 100,000 beneficiaries.

The Council adopted a communication on the adoption of the 2024-2027 Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP).

The Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) is an integrated national programme designed to meet the major challenges of access to employment and improved working conditions for young people, women and people with disabilities, in line with the vision set out in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025.

Since its launch in 2008, the DWPP has contributed to significant progress, particularly in terms of access to productive employment, improved working conditions, strengthened social dialogue and the extension of social protection to all people living in Côte d’Ivoire.

The 2024-2027 DWCPP has been drawn up in an inclusive manner, with the participation of the social partners and development partners, and is based on three (03) priorities, namely strengthening people’s capacity to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the world of work, promoting more effective governance of the world of work, and accelerating the structural transformation of the economy to create decent jobs.

The cost of implementing the 2024-2027 DWPP is estimated at 14 billion CFA francs.

D- MISCELLANEOUS

The next Council of Ministers meeting will be held on Wednesday 23 July 2025 in Abidjan.

Abidjan, Wednesday 02 July 2025
Mr Amadou COULIBALY

Minister for Communication, Government Spokesman

porteparolat@communication.gouv.ci