HM the King Arrives in Abidjan for Friendship and Working Visit to Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

PERSISMA, Abidjan  –  HM King Mohammed VI, accompanied by HH Prince Moulay Ismail, arrived on Friday in Abidjan for a friendship and working visit to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, new leg of a royal tour that took the sovereign to Ghana, Zambia and Guinea.

At the Félix Houphouët-Boigny airport, HM the King was greeted by Ivorian president, H.E Alassane Dramane Ouattara, who was accompanied by Côte d’Ivoire’s First Lady Dominique Claudine Ouattara.

The sovereign was also greeted by Ivorian vice-president Daniel Kablan Duncan, prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Côte d’Ivoire’s ambassador in Rabat Idrissa Traoré, Morocco’s ambassador in Abidjan Abdelmalek Kettani, minister to the president of the republic, in charge of defense, Alain Richard Donwahi, the vice-governor of Abidjan district and the representative of Port-Bouët’s mayor.

HM the King and the Ivorian head of state headed for the VIP stand to salute the national flags while the anthems of the two countries were playing, and reviewed a detachment of the republican guard which paid the honors.

The sovereign was afterwards greeted by chief of general staff of the Ivorian armed forces, the gendarmerie commander, and director general of police, presidents of republican institutions, state ministers, ministers and secretary general of the government.

HM the King was also welcomed by the doyen of the diplomatic corps accredited in Abidjan, doyens of regional groups of the diplomatic corps, Guinea’s ambassador in Côte d’Ivoire, the African Union representative, the ECOWAS representative, members of the Moroccan diplomatic mission in Abidjan, representatives of the Moroccan community established in Côte d’Ivoire and Moroccan high-ranking officers members of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).

The Ivorian president greeted the members of the official delegation accompanying HM the King, as well as the Moroccan economic operators.

After a short break at the airport VIP lounge, the procession of the two leaders headed for the residence of HM the King in Abidjan.