Dominique Ouattara

Ivory Coast
Local cocoa exporters are short of beans

Ivorian cocoa exporters like Africa Sourcing, Kineden and Ecookim have been unable to match the terms offered by the big international groups, who have tripled planters' bonuses. They have managed to execute only 40% of the contracts they signed for the 2023-2024 season.

Palace Intrigues
Félix Tshisekedi, Amadou Ba and Nicolas Sarkozy, Teodoro Obiang Nguema

Intrigues big and small: every Thursday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

DRC Helene Mercier-Arnault, wife of luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault, pays a cultural visit to Kinshasa

SenegalNicolas Sarkozy phones Amadou Ba

Equatorial GuineaTeodoro Obiang Nguema mourns a death and a murder

Ivory Coast
Abidjan weighs cost of sustainable cocoa

Ivory Coast is seeking increased aid from Brussels to transform its cocoa industry in response to changes in European standards. A team of experts commissioned by the prime minister's office has assessed the cost of the required changes.

Gabon, Ivory Coast
Gabonese presidential campaign strains Abidjan-Libreville relations

An audio recording, purportedly of a discussion between Gabonese opposition politicians Albert Ondo Ossa and Alexandre Barro-Chambrier, led to Libreville's foreign minister asking the Ivorian ambassador to explain himself.

Ivory Coast
Loic Folloroux loses another round to RockWinds in marathon cocoa court case

The Bordeaux Court of Appeal has upheld a first instance ruling in the multi-million euro dispute between the French-Ivorian trader and the Bordeaux-based firm.

Palace Intrigues
Alassane Ouattara, Emmanuel Macron, Pedro Sanchez and Mohammed VI

Intrigues big and small... Every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond. This week: Ouattara's latest French holiday, Macron beats Sarkozy, Pedro Sanchez seeks Mohammed VI... again.

Ivory Coast Ouattara takes a new break in France

Congo Macron to beat Sarkozy... for shortest visit

Morocco/Spain Second time lucky for Sanchez and the king in Rabat?

Ivory Coast
Worried Ivorian cocoa traders turn to Ouattara for help

Local cocoa exporters are experiencing significant supply issues and may not manage to honour the contracts that expire when the main 2022-2023 harvest ends this month. Citing lack of action from the cocoa regulatory board, they are asking the president to step in.

Ivory Coast
Ivorian high society haunt Sofitel Abidjan to be closed for renovation

The Accor hotel group plans to close the Sofitel Hotel Ivoire Abidjan for a major renovation before the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which is due to take place in Abidjan in January 2024.

France, Ivory Coast
Ouattara to dine with Macron at Elysée

Dans le cadre de son séjour en France, le président ivoirien rencontrera son homologue à l'Elysée. Les deux hommes doivent se retrouver dans le cadre d'un dîner.

Palace Intrigues
Emmanuel Macron, William Ruto, Alassane Ouattara, Isabel Dos Santos, Chanel

Intrigues big and small: every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

France/KenyaWilliam Ruto keeps Emmanuel Macron waiting

Ivory CoastAlassane Ouattara's prized African art museum

AngolaIsabel Dos Santos calls Embalo to the rescue

SenegalChanel VIPs visit Dakar

Ivory Coast
Power struggle between big business and Abidjan slows cocoa campaign

International traders and chocolate manufacturers are limiting purchases of cocoa beans in Ivory Coast. The local regulatory board is requiring them to acquire 20% from local exporters, and they are unable to find enough 'sustainable' material locally.

Ivory Coast
Ouattara flying off for diplomatic missions in the Vatican and UN

Ivorian head of state Alassane Ouattara is due to fly to the Vatican on 11 September to meet the pope, and following that he'll head to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

France
Judge Dominique Blanc no longer on 'ill-gotten gains' case

There will be a new judge on the case of the "ill-gotten gains" in France involving the presidential families of Gabon and Congo as the investigations continue and charges pile up.