Jaishankar Meets Côte d’Ivoire President, Highlights Development-Focused Partnership

India-Cote d’Ivoire partnership anchored in mutual respect: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar conveyed India’s commitment to a development-focused partnership with Cote d’Ivoire during his meeting with President Alassane Ouattara in the West African nation.

Jaishankar arrived in Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) from Ghana, beginning the second leg of his three-nation tour of African countries, which also includes Ethiopia.

Jaishankar meets President Ouattara

“Honoured to call on President Alassane Ouattara of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. Conveyed personal greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister@narendramodi,” Jaishankar posted on social media.

He said the India-Côte d’Ivoire partnership was “anchored in mutual respect and common commitment to development and prosperity”.

Jaishankar also thanked President Ouattara for “sharing his vision for a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial partnership”.

The meeting placed mutual respect, development and prosperity at the centre of the bilateral relationship, according to the External Affairs Minister’s remarks.

The engagement came during a visit that included discussions on defence, trade, infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, capacity building and people-to-people ties.

Defence and anti-terrorism cooperation discussed

On Wednesday (October 7, 2026), Jaishankar met Cote d’Ivoire’s Vice Prime Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara in Abidjan.

Tene Birahima Ouattara is also the Defence Minister of Cote d’Ivoire.

The two sides discussed the growing defence partnership between India and Cote d’Ivoire.

Jaishankar said the partnership was underpinned by “mutual trust, capacity building and shared interests”.

He also said they had exchanged views on opportunities to expand cooperation in defence and anti-terrorism.

The areas discussed included training, capacity building and enhanced institutional exchanges, according to Jaishankar.

Tene Birahima Ouattara said his discussion with Jaishankar “focused on strengthening cooperation between Cote d’Ivoire and India”.

“This meeting reaffirms our shared commitment to consolidating a strategic partnership in service of peace, security, and development,” he posted on social media.

The defence discussions therefore covered both operational areas, such as training and capacity building, and institutional exchanges between the two countries.

Focus on trade, infrastructure and healthcare

Jaishankar also held talks with Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Niale Kaba on strengthening bilateral ties.

The discussions with Kaba covered trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare and people-to-people ties.

Jaishankar described the talks as “comprehensive discussions” on advancing the India-Cote d’Ivoire partnership.

He said India’s people-centric cooperation with Cote d’Ivoire would be driven by the country’s priorities.

“Underlined that our people-centric cooperation will be driven by the priorities of Cote d’Ivoire,” Jaishankar said in a social media post on Wednesday (October 7, 2026).

The two sides also discussed deepening their engagement in multilateral fora.

The breadth of the discussions reflected the areas identified by both sides for cooperation, ranging from economic engagement and infrastructure to agriculture, healthcare and bilateral contacts.

ITEC and India’s development partnership

During the visit, Jaishankar interacted with Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation, or ITEC, alumni in Cote d’Ivoire.

He said India’s development partnership had always been central to its engagement with Africa.

Jaishankar also said India’s cooperation should respond to the demands and priorities of its African partners.

The ITEC programme started in 1964 and has evolved into one of India’s most important platforms for capacity building and engagement with other countries, he said.

Jaishankar also interacted with members of the Indian community in Cote d’Ivoire.

The visit comes as India seeks to deepen its partnerships with African countries and strengthen cooperation with the Global South.

The broader collaboration includes trade and investment, capacity building, defence and healthcare.

Source: The Hindu