Cooperation: Minister Sidi Touré presents Côte d’Ivoire’s expectations to Belgium and the European Union
The Ivorian Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources has been in Europe for a few days as part of a working visit aimed at strengthening cooperation in terms of animal and fisheries resources between Côte d’Ivoire and the European Union, and between the Ivory Coast and Belgium.
In Brussels (Belgian capital) where the headquarters of the European Union is located, Minister Sidi Touré had a working session on Monday, September 19, 2022, with the Director General of Health, Claire Bury and that of Maritime Affairs ( MARE), Charlina Vitcheva, from the EU Commission. It was a question for Minister Sidi Touré to review with these two officials of the EU Commission, the audit mission carried out in 2019 in Abidjan, on the fight against illegal, undeclared and unregulated (IUU) fishing. , the sustainable fisheries partnership agreement and the health control system at the borders of the European Union. He welcomed this “working session with the Commission of the European Union represented by the Directors General of Health Claire Bury and that of Maritime Affairs (MARE) Charlina Vitcheva”. A meeting that allowed them to agree on a number of recommendations that could effectively combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. “Our discussions focused on the audit mission carried out in 2019 in Abidjan, the fight against illegal, undeclared and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the sustainable partnership agreement in fishing, and the border health control system of the European Union. A working session which enabled us to validate several recommendations resulting from this audit”, indicated Sidi Touré at the end of the meeting. The Minister welcomed the forthcoming holding of other working sessions, by videoconference, with a view to completing the work of this audit by the end of the year. “We have agreed to review the remaining points during an online meeting in the coming days, with a view to completing this audit by the end of this year 2022”, reassured Sidi Touré. Expressing his satisfaction, he requested “EU assistance for the establishment of a modern laboratory, with the capacity to carry out all the analyzes necessary to ensure the safety of the food chain in Côte d’Ivoire”. Also in Belgium, Minister Sidi Touré had a working session with David Clarinval, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Middle Classes, the Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal. Honored to have been received by his Belgian colleague, Sidi Touré spoke of the “challenges facing Côte d’Ivoire, particularly in terms of animal health and the safety of animal foodstuffs and animal origins and of which the country is insufficiently prepared to respond. This is why, he said, “Côte d’Ivoire intends to equip itself with the support of Belgium with two important instruments: a laboratory to strengthen the health security of the DAOA and a veterinary school to contribute to dealing with the zoonoses and other emerging animal diseases”. The Minister therefore proposed “a memorandum of understanding the purpose of which is the creation of a veterinary public health institute, a continuing education center and a laboratory for veterinary services” to the Belgian party. Then insisted on the fact that “Côte d’Ivoire expects a lot from this partnership with Belgium”. For his part, his Belgian counterpart, David Clarinval, underlined the excellence of the century-old relations between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. Not without recalling the high-level meetings between King Philipe of Belgium, the Belgian Prime Minister and President Alassane Ouattara. Then, he reassured of his availability to “accompany Côte d’Ivoire for all the relevant questions of the competence of his ministerial department, in this case the health safety of the food chain”. David Clarinval marked his “commitment to have the Memorandum of Understanding signed” between the two countries. Finally, he recalled that his country, which had been affected by African swine fever, is “declared free and intends to resume its commercial relations with the rest of the world”.
A