Dosso Adama, ambassador of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to China

China and Côte d’Ivoire are commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in March 2023. On this occasion, ChinAfrica spoke with Dosso Adama, ambassador of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to China, to hear his views and vision on the development of bilateral relations. An edited excerpt of the interview follows.  

ChinAfrica: What, in your opinion, have been the most significant developments in Côte d’Ivoire-China relations during the last 40 years, and how should they grow moving forward? 

Dosso Adama: The cooperation between Côte d’Ivoire and China has been distinguished by a number of noteworthy events. 

The first is the very political choice made at the time by the two governments of Côte d’Ivoire and China to forge ties in a challenging geopolitical and geo-economic environment. 

With this significant decision, Côte d’Ivoire acknowledged Taiwan as an inalienable part of China, and the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China. It is therefore the only possible interlocutor. It signalled Côte d’Ivoire’s economic openness to China. 

Second, the development of South-South relations over time, with the support of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, has led to the expansion of commercial and trade ties between the two countries. China has become Côte d’Ivoire’s leading trading partner, accounting for almost 9 percent of the country’s foreign trade. 

Third, there has been frequent meetings and dialogues between the top leaders of the two countries. In this regard, I would like to mention that the current President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara holds the record for the most official visits by an Ivorian president to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s phone call with his Ivorian counterpart on 20 December 2022 was the latest manifestation of the closeness of the relationship.  

One of the most significant developments in these relations to date is the signing of a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership Agreement Between China and Côte d’Ivoire in 2018, which aims to take the relationship to a new level. We are certain that this friendship, which is full of potential, will continue to become stronger and more varied in the spirit of mutual respect and prosperity that has always characterised it. 

An Ivorian resident looks at an exhibition display during the completion ceremony of the first phase of the PK24 industrial park project, built by a Chinese company, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on 23 December 2022 (XINHUA)

Côte d’Ivoire’s economy is expanding quickly. What are the prospects of China-Côte d’Ivoire economic and commercial cooperation? 

Indeed, the vitality and prospects of our economy remain good with a projected annual growth of 7 percent over the period up to 2025. Côte d’Ivoire is the leading economic power in French-speaking West Africa, accounting for 40 percent of the GDP of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Nearly 9 percent of our country’s foreign trade is conducted with China, which is our biggest trading partner. 

China has invested more than $140 million in Côte d’Ivoire in terms of foreign direct investment in 2022. This shows the dynamism of the economic and commercial cooperation between Côte d’Ivoire and China, which the two sides have decided to raise to a higher level. 

President Xi reiterated that Côte d’Ivoire is one of China’s most important partners in Africa during his phone call with his Ivorian counterpart last year. On this occasion, the two presidents called for more Chinese enterprises to invest in Côte d’Ivoire in an effort to further enhance trade relations between their two countries. 

There are lots of opportunities for economic and commercial cooperation between Côte d’Ivoire and China, especially in the area of agriculture, particularly rice farming and local processing of cocoa and other goods. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. In which sectors has this initiative promoted cooperation between China and Côte d’Ivoire? How important is it to align the initiative with your country’s National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025? 

China’s cooperation framework with Côte d’Ivoire currently includes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), notably in terms of investment, infrastructure development, production capacity building, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, etc. 

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, of which Côte d’Ivoire became a member on 25 April 2019, is one of the initiative’s development and finance partners. Côte d’Ivoire joined the BRI in August 2018 and is a participant in it. 

As soon as it joined the initiative, our country presented a preliminary list of 12 projects aimed at enhancing Côte d’Ivoire’s connectivity with other countries through the development of infrastructure and closer economic and social interactions. 

In order to achieve the goals of its NDP 2021-2025, which aims to achieve the economic and social transformation required to elevate Côte d’Ivoire to the status of a middle-income country by 2030, Côte d’Ivoire wishes to take advantage of the best possible benefits and opportunities offered by the initiative. 

The financing needs of Côte d’Ivoire’s NDP amount to about $120 billion, of which about $88 billion is to come for the private sector. 

This year, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Côte d’Ivoire, a roundtable meeting will be held in Beijing to enhance people-to-people exchanges. How significant have youth exchanges been in promoting mutual understanding between our two peoples?


I would like to say the friendship between the Ivorian and Chinese people is excellent. The two peoples are getting to know each other more and more. Exchanges between the two peoples and their leaders have intensified. This is the result of several factors, including cultural exchanges. 

Every year, China offers Côte d’Ivoire cooperation scholarships that enable Ivorian students to study here in China. The Ivorian government also provides government scholarships for studies in China. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Confucius Institute carries out activities to promote Chinese language and culture. 

Today, in Côte d’Ivoire, more than 1,500 students are participating in Chinese language learning in Ivorian schools. Schools in Côte d’Ivoire organise events like the National Chinese Language Day and the “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition to promote the Chinese language and culture. 

All of these cultural interactions help individuals from Côte d’Ivoire and China to communicate more easily, get to know each other better, socialise more, and build and sustain friendships and relationships of collaboration in a variety of areas. 

Several Chinese nationals are based in Côte d’Ivoire and vice versa. There are marriages between Chinese and Ivorians. This shows the level of integration between peoples of Côte d’Ivoire and China. 

You have been assigned to China since 2014. You have been to several cities in China and have seen how the nation has developed and changed. Which ones have impressed you most? 

China’s steady progress in terms of infrastructure, architecture, urban planning, science, technology, economic performance, green energy development, and employment has particularly impressed me. To be honest, the Western countries have nothing for China to be envious about. The sense of security, political stability and calm are also highly valued.