Energy Compact and Program Implementation Agreement Negotiations Conclude : THE IVORIAN DELEGATION AND THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION AGREE ON THEIR POSITIONS

After four days of intense work on proposed changes to the Compact and the PIA Program Implementation Agreement between the Delegates of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire (GoCI) and the Delegate of the United States of America through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the negotiations on the Regional Energy Compact ended in a convivial atmosphere on Thursday August 2, 2024 in Washington DC. The main points of discussion included subsidy agreements with regional energy entities, and legal aspects relating to immunity, administrative procedures, termination, taxes, exemptions and indemnities.

In her closing speech, Madame COULIBALY Minafou Fanta, Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Finance and Budget, who led the Ivorian delegation, underlined the quality and dynamism of cooperation between her country and that of the United States of America, in the following terms: “This exchange meeting bears witness to our mutual commitment to work towards strengthening bilateral cooperation between the United States and Côte d’Ivoire”, she said.

As for Madame CHIDI Blyden, Deputy CEO of the MCC, she praised the commitment and support of the Ivorian delegates throughout the negotiations. From the preparatory meetings of the legal and tax experts to the discussions on the key items of the body of the Compact and the Program Implementation Agreement (PIA), everything had been gone through with a fine-tooth comb to arrive at the formulated conclusions. To immortalize these fruitful negotiations held from July 29 to August 2, 2024, a symbolic cake-cutting ceremony brought the ceremony to a close, with the next step being the approval of the Compact by the MCC Board of Directors in September 2024, in the hope of ensuring the continuity of the MCC-Côte d’Ivoire partnership through the official signing of the $322 million grant between the American and Ivorian authorities.