- Dear Ambassador Stephanie Sullivan, Acting Principal Deputy Secretary of State, Representative of the United States Government;

- Distinguished Ministers;

- Dear Mister Jonathan Nash, Interim CEO Millennium Challenge Corporation,

- Ladies and Gentlemen,

Misses Sullivan, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to His Excellency President Donald Trump, his Cabinet and the entire American people for the warm welcome we received and for all the delicate marks of attention that have been shown to us since our arrival in the United States of America.

I am very pleased to be here today in Washington DC for the signing of Côte d’Ivoire’s first Compact program and to celebrate with you this very important event.

The journey was long but worth undertaking to come to this day of celebration.

Emerging from a political crisis in 2011, negatively affected by months of conflict, no one could have bet that Côte d’Ivoire, within a three-year period, would have become eligible to a Threshold program in December 2014 and, a year later declared eligible to develop a Compact Program.

This was made possible because Côte d’Ivoire managed to significantly improve its performance on the MCC indicators from passing 5 in 2011 to 14 out of the 20 in 2016, which was ultimately crowned by the approval of the first Compact program for Côte d'Ivoire. This was one of the fastest and most broad-based improvement recorded by MCC for a country, who now refers to Côte d’Ivoire as an “MCC effect Country”.

To be honest with you, this was not an accident. My Administration set out on a specific plan to rapidly climb the ranks on these indicators as part of the nation’s recovery strategy. In this regard, MCC has been a great Partner for us throughout this recovery process. As we were embarked on a series of reforms with the willingness to build a country grounded on rule of law, respect of democratic principles, good governance and human rights, the MCC principles and indicators were very useful.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the United States Government for this important grant of $ 524.74 million which will enable Côte d'Ivoire to implement the projects targeted in the priority sectors of Transport, Education and Vocational Training.

The Skills Project, 30% of the grant, will improve the employability of young people and the productivity of the private sector and, The Abidjan Transport Project, 55% of the grant, will increase the competitiveness of Abidjan as the country’s main growth pole.

The projects selected through a very rigorous methodological approach, respond definitely to our major challenges. Indeed, in a country where the private sector is the main engine of growth and where 70% of the population is aged under 35, private sector productivity as well as youth unemployment are major critical issues. We have therefore no doubt that these projects are going to have a decisive impact. Beyond the projects themselves, the lessons drawn, the methodology, the knowledge and know-how transfer will serve as a strategic tool for bigger structural transformations.

As we are preparing to sign this Agreement, I would like to assure you of my commitment and that of the Ivorian Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee the quality and timeliness of the Program implementation. As far as the indicators are concerned, moving backward is not an option for us, our ambition is to pass 20 indicators by the end of the Compact and to pave the way for a second Compact as from 2024.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me extend my warmest congratulations to our Experts teams, on both side, who worked tirelessly, in a spirit of mutual understanding during the entire process.

Congratulations to the Ivoirian team, experts and focal points who worked hard and with devotion to help achieve this unprecedented performance for their country.

Very special Thanks to the MCC team, leaders and staff, who have been very helpful and supportive all along the process. My team asked me to convey our special gratitude to Jason Small and David Weld who showed an exceptional commitment and professionalism.

In closing, I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People of the United States, the US Administration as well as the Millennium Challenge Corporation for their constant commitment, support and trust. This Compact CI program is a testimony of the strong ties between our countries and a testament to United States Government’s confidence in Côte d’Ivoire’s bright future.

I wish the MCC Compact Côte d'Ivoire every success.

Long live Ivorian-American cooperation.

Thank You.