BEIRUT: Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil met Monday night with the prime minister of the Ivory Coast, who invited Lebanon to increase its investments in the West African nation.
“The Ivory Coast opens wide horizons for Lebanese investment, especially in the agricultural and banking sectors,” Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan said after meeting with Bassil, according to a statement released Tuesday.
He explained that the Ivorian economy is witnessing a yearly growth rate of 10 percent, and that his government is implementing economic policies that facilitate foreign investment, especially in the banking sector.
Duncan described Lebanon as the “podium to the Middle Eastern and Arab markets,” saying “the Lebanese excel in all fields, and especially in the agricultural sector.”
Bassil, in turn, praised the good relations between the two countries.
“This visit aims to bolster relations, especially in the economic ones, because the human and political relations are on the highest level possible,” he said.
Bassil said the impressive growth rate of Ivory Coast is a motivating factor for Lebanese investors, and that the Lebanese businessmen’s creativity will add value to this growth.
Bassil arrived to Abidjan on Monday where he inaugurated new offices for the Lebanese embassy.
He was then invited to the residence of the Lebanese Chargé d'affaires Wissam Kalakesh, where the latter hosted a ceremony to honor Bassil in the presence of many Lebanese diplomats and officials.
Bassil praised the efforts of the Lebanese expat community in the country, stressing on the importance of Africa for the Lebanese economy.
“The African continent is the economic lung of the Lebanese economy,” he said.
He called on Lebanese businessmen in Africa not to stir any trouble, "because the enemies of Lebanon are many and they are working on distorting its image.”
He accused Israel of attempting to invade the African markets through illicit competition and force, and of working on undermining Lebanese interest in the region.
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