The Vice-President of the Republic chaired the special event on the ”Abidjan Legacy Program” initiative as part of COP28, in Dubai

The Vice-President of the Republic, Mr. Tiémoko Meyliet KONE, representing the Head of State, HE Alassane OUATTARA, at the 28th United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28), in the United Arab Emirates, chaired , this Sunday, December 3, at the Ivory Coast Pavilion, at the Exhibition Center of

Dubai, the special event dedicated to the ”Abidjan Legacy Program” initiative.

The event took place in the presence of members of the Ivorian delegation to COP28 and representatives of development partners. It was marked by an address from the Vice-President of the Republic, the presentation of the ”Abidjan Legacy Program” and the National Report on Climate and Development in Côte d’Ivoire, and the submission of the said report to the Vice-President of the Republic.

”The Abidjan Legacy Program” or ”the Abidjan Initiative” is a program led by President Alassane OUATTARA since 2022, and whose vocation is to enable Côte d’Ivoire to integrate into its development strategies approaches to sustainable soil management and restoration of our highly degraded forest ecosystems, in response to the challenges of drought and land restoration.

The Vice-President of the Republic greeted the participants for their presence at the Côte d’Ivoire Pavilion which reflects the interest they have in Côte d’Ivoire in its fight against climate change.

He then underlined the specific objective of the Head of State in creating the ”Abidjan Initiative”, which is to act in the face of climate threats, while sustainably increasing Ivorian agricultural production, for the well-being of our

vulnerable compatriots in rural areas.

Continuing, the Vice-President of the Republic indicated that the report submitted today, which is the first of its kind produced on the climate and development of Côte d’Ivoire, was adopted by the Government during the Council of Ministers of November 23, 2023. It takes stock of the action and indicates the measures to be taken to reduce the impacts of climate change on our country.

The Vice-President of the Republic assured multilateral and bilateral partners of the Ivorian Government’s commitment to working in symbiosis with them, and launched an appeal to private sector investors to integrate the process, in order to accelerate the achievement of the green economy we want.

Finally, the Vice-President of the Republic added a note of hope by indicating that despite the challenges linked to the impacts of climate change, enormous progress has been made in the field of mitigation, in order to reduce carbon emissions. greenhouse gases and increase our resilience.

Note that the Coordinator of the Coordination Unit of the ”Abidjan Legacy Program” initiative, Mr. Abou BAMBA, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Africa Director of the UNDP, Ms. Ahunna EZIAKONWA, and the Administrator of the Group Africa II of the World Bank Group, Mr. Abdoul Salam BELLO, were present among the speakers during this special COP28 event organized at the Ivory Coast Pavilion.