« On behalf of the Secretary-General, it is my pleasure to decorate you with the United Nations Medal for peacekeeping in recognition of your contribution to the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Mrs Aïchatou Mindaoudou told the 175 members of the 4th contingent of the Egyptian Engineering Company during their medal parade ceremony on 20 January 2014 in Yamoussoukro, situated 243 kilometres from Abidjan.



The ceremony, which was attended by the Egyptian Ambassador, his excellency Mr. Usama Khalil and Ivorian officials such as Mr. Joachim Konan and Mr. Yaya Coulibaly who represented the Governor and the Prefect of the District of Yamoussoukro respectively. The Deputy Force Commander, General Talla Niang, also attended the medal parade ceremony.



Explaining the reasons why peacekeepers are decorated with the UN Medal, the Special Representative said that it symbolised "the UN's recognition of the devotion, professionalism and contribution of soldiers to peace". Mrs Mindaoudou expressed her gratitude to all the medal recipients for the work they had accomplished and encouraged them to continue to work in the same way. "I am more convinced than ever that you will continue to work for the consolidation of peace and security in Côte d'Ivoire," she added.



The head of UNOCI also thanked the Ivorian military and civilian authorities for their presence at the ceremony and for their collaboration with UNOCI peacekeepers. Mrs Mindaoudou also took the opportunity to express her gratitude to Ivorians for their continued support to the United Nations and UNOCI.



Echoing the words of the Special Representative, the Commander of the 4th Egyptian Engineering Company, Hytham Khalifa, thanked all those who attended the ceremony and assured them that "my men and I will spare no effort to support peace and development in this country, in the spirit of cooperation".



The Egyptian Engineering Company was first deployed in Côte d'Ivoire in December 2009.