1.1 Economic and Financial Cooperation

• In February 2019, an economic day in Italy brought together 108 companies and numerous Italian investors for presentations on the business environment and investment opportunities in Côte d'Ivoire.

• The Republic of Italy and the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire signed a convention on July 30, 1982, aimed at avoiding double taxation on income taxes and preventing tax evasion, which came into force on May 15, 1987.

• A bilateral agreement was signed in 2004 to cancel a debt of approximately €45 million, following which the Ivorian government committed to presenting a program for the use of these resources to finance development initiatives and poverty reduction.

• Additionally, it is important to highlight that Italian cooperation is also present as a member state of the European Union (EU), contributing 13% to the European Development Fund (EDF). The EDF for Côte d'Ivoire includes three key focus areas, with a total amount of €272.8 million.

1.2 Technical Cooperation

• In October 2019, a memorandum was signed in Italy with an Italian company specializing in the maintenance of hospital equipment and materials, to establish a center of excellence in Côte d'Ivoire, along with the training of biomedical technicians.

• On October 15, 2014, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University signed a cultural and scientific collaboration agreement with Sapienza University of Rome.

• Besides governmental cooperation, decentralized cooperation is also present through regions, provinces, municipalities, and universities, particularly in the health sector, as well as through NGOs (Gruppo Abele, Terre des Hommes Italia, Agenzia di Pavia), associations, ONLUS (Granello di Senape, Progetto Afrique, Mission Futuro, Soleterre), and religious missions.

• Between 1985 and 2005, Côte d'Ivoire received approximately €11.2 million in grants, primarily benefiting programs led by Italian NGOs in the health sector and emergency aid, financed through both multilateral and bilateral channels.