"I encourage traditional chiefs as well as community and administrative authorities to pursue efforts towards implementing concrete projects you have identified}," declared the UN Special Representative or Cote d'Ivoire and head of the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) Mrs. Aichatou Mindaoudou, at the closing of the first meeting of the joint Council of traditional and community which took place from 16-19 October 2013 in Zwedru, the Grand Gedeh County of Liberia.



The closing ceremony was co-presided over by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and current Chairperson of the Mano River Union and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, current Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire and the UN Mission in Liberia took an active part in the meeting.



The closing was marked by the signing of a joint communiqué between Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire and the traditional chiefs and community leaders of the two countries. The communiqué underlines the commitment at the local level of the administrative and traditional authorities to dialogue and reinforced cooperation aimed at preventing and resolving conflicts.



In her address on the occasion, the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General for Cote d'Ivoire, Mrs. Aichatou Mindaoudou the setting up of a quadripartite forum made up of the governments of Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) "{made it possible to strengthen cooperation at the national level}." She said the "{holding of the first joint Council of traditional chiefs has strengthened this cooperation at the level of the communities}." Referring to refugees still in Liberia, Mrs. Mindaoudou encouraged them "{to return to Cote d'Ivoire}" and assured them of the support of UNOCI in facilitating their return.



In his own address, the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara also appealed to the refugees, saying: "{the nation is waiting for you}." The Ivorian President thanked UNOCI and MINUL for their support toward the consolidation of peace, national reconciliation and the restoration of state authority in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia. "{The quadripartite commission appears to me the ideal structure to establish a follow-up of the problems of security, justice and social cohesion as well as other bilateral issues affecting the two countries}," President Ouattara noted, announcing that the next joint Council of Chiefs meeting will be held next year in Cote d'Ivoire.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, for her part, stressed the need for Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia to work together. "{That Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia ought to work together is not optional; it is a necessity}," she stated adding that the people on both sides of the border shared the same traditions and cultures and were in search of a common development objective.



Talking about the refugee problem, Mrs. Sirleaf assured President Ouattara of her support. "{We are going to work with you to assist the return home of the refugees}," she declared.



Both leaders announced infrastructural projects aimed at improving the electrical power connections, the development of road links between the two countries, especially the construction of a tarred road linking Zwedru in Liberia and Toulepleu in Cote d'Ivoire.



The deliberations of the joint Council of Chiefs meeting held under the theme "Building peace through dialogue" covered a number of issues such as security and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) in the border zone and the involvement of the local communities in the restoration of peace; the reconciliation process in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia; the voluntary return of refugees; community development projects and youth employment. The Zwedru meeting was marked by a strong mobilization of traditional and community leaders, administrative authorities as well as local elites and cadres of Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.