Gbagbo Wants South Bank of Investment

It is not an understatement that Africa produces enough food, but the ability for the food produced to be dispatch to where it is most needed is a major problem facing Independent Nations of the Continent since all 52 States gained Independence.

In a bid to find an amicable solution to this problem currently facing the Nations of Africa, the President of Cote D’ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, a true partisan of a real integration based on deeds, is calling for the establishment of the transport and energy sectors development funds, as well as the South Bank of Investment in Africa.

The disclosure was made in Monrovia last weekend at a commemorative ceremony organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Cote D’ivoire in Liberia to mark the Country’s 50th Independence Anniversary.

Following Cote D’ivoire’s proclamation on December 4, 1958, its institutions were established in 1959, but did not gained recognition until August 7, 1960.

Immediately after its Independence, Cote D’ivoire first Head of States, Felix Houphouet-Boigny opted for liberalism associated with state intervention, as development should cover a bold social policy.

This attracted the coming to existence of a Diplomatic relations between this West African State and the Republic of Liberia in 1961 through the political will of Presidents Felix Houphouet-Boigny and William V.S. Tubman.

The Cultural and educational exchanges that the two Heads of state sought brought closer to each other, the Ivorian and Liberian people who share the same tradition, history, culture and languages along their borders.

Unfortunately, this unique relationship the two countries continue to build on today was disrupted by arm conflicts in both Countries.

Consequently, during the course of these arm conflicts, the populations of the two Nations faced massive displacement in the interior of their respective homes territory, disruption of trade exchanges, cross border refugee’s insecurity and increasing poverty, among others. 

Although Liberia has cleaned its hands off the dirt of war, the Ivorians continue to hope and pray for God’s intervention for a possible triumph over three-fourths of what they called rocky and tricky demons for free, fair and peaceful democratic elections before the end of 2010.

Cote D’ivoire is a West African Nation situated in the East of Liberia’s coast, with a population of an estimated 20,000,000 people.

Cote D’ivoire, Africa and the World’s first producer of Cocoa, has a surface of 322.462 square kilometers, with French as its officially language and Yamoussoukro as its political capital and Abidjan as its commercial capital.

The four major ethnic groups of Cote D’ivoire largely live on the export of cocoa, palm oil, cotton, pineapple, cashew nuts coffee and banana, among others.