Côte d’Ivoire Signs Membership Agreement with the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program

 

The Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program signed the Membership Agreement with the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, officially welcoming the country as a new Member. The signing ceremony took place in Abuja on the sidelines of the 5th AATB Board of Governors Meeting, hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The Agreement was signed between Eng. Nasser Al-Thekair, GM Trade&Business Development at the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), and Mr. Clement Kouakou, Deputy Director of the Ministerial Cabinet, Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development of Cote d’Ivoire. The membership reflects Côte d’Ivoire’s strategic commitment to strengthening economic ties with Arab and African countries and deepening its participation in regional integration frameworks.

As part of this membership, both parties will work together to develop the Côte d’Ivoire Country Program, providing a structured framework to support trade and investment promotion, export competitiveness, industrial upgrading, logistics capacity development, quality infrastructure, and digital trade readiness. The program is expected to include practical interventions such as feasibility studies for quality control laboratories, support for e-commerce platforms for export products, initiatives to strengthen logistics sector skills, and B2B matchmaking in priority value chains, including construction and agri-food.

Côte d’Ivoire’s accession represents a further step in AATB’s growing engagement with African countries that are working to enhance trade-led development, value chain integration, and regional connectivity.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Arab Africa Trade Bridges Program (AATB).

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About the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program:
The AATB Program is a multi-donor, multi-country, and multi-organizations program supported by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Islamic Development Bank, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD).  The Program aims to promote and increase trade and investment flows between African and Arab OIC member countries; provide and support trade finance and export credit insurance and enhance existing capacity-building tools relating to trade. The Program specifically focuses on supporting the key sectors of agriculture and related industries including textiles; the health industry including pharmaceuticals; infrastructure and transport; and petrochemicals, construction material, and technology.