APA-Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) –
Switzerland is Côte d’Ivoire’s 4th largest trading partner after China, France and Nigeria.
Trade between the two countries totaled €1.4 billion in 2023, or 918.33 billion CFA francs, according to Anne Lugon-Moulin, Switzerland’s ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire.
Speaking on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of Sika Côte d’Ivoire, a subsidiary of the Swiss Sika AG group, the ambassador stated that Sika Côte d’Ivoire has been operating in Côte d’Ivoire since 2014.
It operates in the construction of chemicals industry and manufactures among other things, industrial adhesives and chemical products for waterproofing.
“We note that Swiss brands are sometimes used illegally,” said Anne Lugon-Moulin, who intends to lobby government authorities to step up the fight against this phenomenon.
The Swiss diplomat noted that the volume of trade between the two countries demonstrates the dynamism of the Ivorian economy, while expressing her delight at seeing the diversity of Swiss activities on Ivorian soil.
The company’s Regional Director for West Africa, Marcel El Khoury, pointed out that from three employees in Côte d’Ivoire in 2014, the subsidiary has grown to 26 agents in 2017 and now has “more than 80 employees, the majority of whom are Ivorian.”
Focusing on quality, the Swiss group has set up, through its subsidiary, a training centre called “Sika Academy”, with the aim of training employees, applicators, architects and engineers, he added.
Marcel El Khoury assured the audience of the company’s determination to support the Ivorian government in carrying out its major projects.
The subsidiary has worked on the rehabilitation of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Bridge in Abidjan and the Alassane Ouattara Olympic stadium in Ebimpe.
As regards the subsidiary’s strategies for the coming years, he set out five key areas of focus, including growth, with the ambition of increasing current investments, extending its geographical presence, sustainable development, innovation and talent development.
According to the company’s Managing Director, Jumoke Adegunle, the company has carried out more than 15 community projects and trained 15,000 applicators and craftsmen. She expressed the subsidiary’s commitment to continuing to manufacture innovative products.
Switzerland is regularly ranked among the top 10th investors in Côte d’Ivoire, with a record in 2013. The country ranked third in terms of trade relations, behind France and Great Britain.
With a view to strengthening and revitalizing the economic ties between the two countries and serving as an important contact point for companies interested in Côte d’Ivoire, a Swiss – Côte d’Ivoire Chamber of Commerce was set up in 2010.
AP/fss/GIK/APA