COUNTRY PROFILE / UNITED KINGDOM

Continent: Europe

Official name: United Kingdom of Great Britain

Nature of the regime: Parliamentary Monarchy

Head of State: Charles III, King of England

Area: 244,820 km2

Currency: pound sterling - symbol: £.

Population: 67.33 million inhabitants

Capital: London (London).

Main cities: London, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield.

Official language: English.

I.1. Economically and financially

• Participation of the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire at the UK-Africa Summit of January 20, 2020 in London. This summit was organized with the aim of establishing advantageous trade agreements with new partners in order to make up for the shortfall of the United Kingdom exit from the European customs union. During this Summit, several contracts were signed between British companies and African countries invited to London, for a total of 7.5 billion euros. Cote d’Ivoire will benefit from an investment of nearly €95 million from the British company Aggreko for the supply of energy.

Several agreements and conventions have been signed between Cote d’Ivoire and the United Kingdom:

• Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire (June 08, 1995, in London);
• Convention between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains (June 25, 1985).

 

The various high-level reciprocal visits and conferences have strengthened economic cooperation.

Visits include:

• Visit of a British delegation led by H.E. Simon TONGUE, former Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Cote d’Ivoire, for a trade mission from December 03 to 04, 2018 in Abidjan. The delegation was composed of representatives of HSBC, Bechtel, Colas and Mesira Ltd;
• Visit to London, in June 2017, by Prime Minister Amadou GON COULIBALY as part of the launch of the Eurobond;
• visit to London, in 2012, by the President of the Republic, H.E. Mr. Alassane OUATTARA.

 

In addition, several economic prospecting missions and conferences were organized both in Cote d’Ivoire and in the United Kingdom. These meetings brought together the British and Ivorian business communities. The most important are:

• conferences organized with the Business Council for Africa;
• conferences on mining and hydrocarbons;
• conferences on infrastructure investments;
• participation of His Excellency the Prime Minister, Minister of Budget and State Portfolio at the London Economic Forum on Investment and Trade in Cote d’Ivoire from September 13 to 15, 2017, in London.

In addition, the United Kingdom is one of Cote d’Ivoire bilateral creditors. It participates in the restructuring of the Ivorian debt as part of the implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

On June 29, 2012, Cote d’Ivoire concluded the agreed minutes of the treatment of its debt with all the creditor countries members of the Paris Club, of which the United Kingdom is a member.

As part of the negotiations initiated with each country following these minutes with a view to deciding on the terms of the bilateral cancellations to be granted to Cote d’Ivoire, the United Kingdom cancelled all its claims against Cote d’Ivoire. This cancellation concerns a stock of debt of about 25 billion of CFAF or 30 million pounds sterling. This stock comes from the last five (05) Agreements (VII) (VIII) (IX) (X) and (XI), resulting from the restructuring of non-Official Development Assistance (ODA) debt.

Also, other financial commitments relating to Eurobonds are concluded between Cote d’Ivoire and the United Kingdom. These are securities issued by Cote d’Ivoire on the European market, progressive interest rate bonds denominated in US dollars and euros.

In addition, the United Kingdom has supported Cote d’Ivoire during the long socio-political crisis it has experienced. In this context, it has granted 430 million of CFAF to UNDP and 17.5 billion of CFAF to UNOCI.

 

I.2. At the technical level

• on February 6 and 7, 2020, visit by Prince Edward of England to participate in a ceremony of distinction to recipients of the International Youth Merit;
• Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire on air services between the two (02) countries and beyond (December 1, 1976 in London);
• Agreement on the establishment of a Joint Cooperation Commission between the Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire and the Government of the United Kingdom, Great Britain and Northern Ireland (November 15, 1988, Abidjan).

A. The main products exported are: cocoa beans; bananas; rubber; mangoes, papaya, crude oil, processed wood, mechanical and electrical appliances, paper, cardboard and publishing products.

 

B. The main imported products are: mechanical machinery; iron, cast iron, steel and steel products; metal products; dairy products; beverages; bookstores, plastics; household appliances, various chemical products, thrift stores, chemicals, essential oils and plant extracts, electrical products.

Trade flows Cote d’Ivoire-United Kingdom (Value in millions of CFA francs)
Years	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Exports	156 200	196 000	225 500	261 700	276 000
Imports	112 900	87 500	97 000	98 000	124 200
Trade balance	43 300	108 500	128 500	163 700	151 800
Global bilateral exchanges	269 100	283 500	322 500	359 700	400 200

Sources : DGE-DPPSE

 

Sources : DGE-DPCEI

 

• The value of bilateral trade reached 400,200 million of CFAF in 2022 compared to 359,700 million of CFAF in 2021;
• Over the period 2018-2022, the average value of Ivorian exports is estimated at 223,100 million of CFAF /year against 103,900 million of CFAF /year for imports;
• Over the period 2018-2022, the trade balance is in surplus for Cote d’Ivoire.