Italy wants to strengthen its ties with the Ivory Coast, which it views as a key partner in the energy and security fields, president Sergio Mattarella said on Wednesday after talks with Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara.
"In recent years our dialogue has grown intensively and we intend it to expand further, because Italy considers the Ivory Coast a partner of primary importance," Mattarella stated.
During their talks, Mattarella and Ouattara looked at boosting the number of Italian companies operating in the Ivory Coast "including in the cocoa sector, in which the Ivory Coast is one of the world's leading players," Mattarella stated.
Italy and the Ivory Coast are already cooperating extensively in the energy sector, Mattarella noted.
"We have a great collaboration," he said.
Italian major Eni and Ivory Coast's state oil company Petroci have discovered "two very large deposits" that will allow the West African country to play a leading role in future energy supply, Mattarella said.
"The discovery and start over the past year of (oil and gas) production of the (giant) Baleine field, which was joined by the Calao field, is really important, and we intend to expand cooperation to other sectors and areas," Mattarella added.
Mattarella and Ouattara shared "concern" at the deteriorating political and security situation in Africa's Sahel region, made worse by weakening regional cooperation in West Africa (amid a spate of military coups), he said.
"We greatly appreciate the Ivory Coast's crucial role in regional stability...and we will support it and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) during this crisis," Mattarella underlined.
