Russia eyes Ivory Coast's market despite France's economic dominance
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Notwithstanding the fierce competition on the Ivorian market and Moscow's best efforts, the top Russian diplomat notes that Moscow expects its strained efforts will eventually bring positive results.
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Aerial view of the Plateau district in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. (United Nations)
Russia's Ambassador to Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, Alexey Saltykov, said that Russia is attempting to enter the Ivory Coast market by supplying local products, despite France's economic dominance in the African country.
"Historically, Ivory Coast has been oriented toward French capital, and French companies have quite firm positions in the Ivorian economy, but this does not stop us, since there are areas where Russia has better technologies and developments. And for our part, we continue to work with Ivorian agencies and specialized organizations to offer our products and technologies," Saltykov said.
Notwithstanding the fierce competition in the Ivorian market, the top Russian diplomat noted that Moscow expects its strained efforts will eventually bring positive results.
He also assured that "now it may very well be the right time" to enter the Ivorian market, as Russia has prioritized key developments to Cote d'Ivoire in various areas of the economy.
It is worth noting that Ivory Coast is situated on West Africa's southern coast. In 1960, the country earned independence alongside other African countries after more than 65 years of French colonialization. Moscow, however, has repeatedly argued that the continent's decolonization is not complete because some areas are still governed by colonial governments. According to Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, Moscow would continue to support certain UN initiatives in order to aid African nations in completing the decolonization process.
