Achi urges Canada economic partnership and skills exchange
Ivory Coast's National Assembly president asked Canadian parliamentarians to encourage private investors to explore the Ivorian market.
Patrick Achi, president of Ivory Coast's National Assembly, called in Abidjan on Thursday, November 13, 2026, for a stronger economic partnership with Canada, built on private investment, training and skills exchange. He presented investment opportunities under the 2026-2030 National Development Plan (PND), including local processing of farm commodities, food security, industry, infrastructure and new technologies.
Achi said wealth creation rests above all on human skills, and he pressed for more Ivorian students to gain access to Canadian higher education, with mechanisms to bring skills back home. He asked the visiting Canadian parliamentary delegation, led by Senator Amina Gerba, to urge Canadian private investors to look further at the Ivorian market.
Gerba called the exchanges "very fruitful" and said her association wanted to deepen ties between the two countries. Ivory Coast is among 10 priority countries in Canada's Africa strategy announced in 2025. The Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, founded in 2003, is making only its second visit to Ivory Coast, after one in 2013.