The Under Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, accompanied by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Mrs Aïchatou Mindaoudou, on Wednesday, 30 October 2013, held discussions with the Ivorian Minister of Foreign Affairs,Charles Koffi Diby, on the progress made so far in the peace process, security, reconciliation and economic recovery, as well as the UN Mission's collaboration with Côte d'Ivoire.



"We are leaving very satisfied with the discussions we had with Mr. Ladsous who has always paid particular attention to Côte d'Ivoire," said Mr. Diby at the end of the meeting which lasted more than an hour. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also said he had thanked the head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations on behalf of Côte d'Ivoire for "the very good work that UNOCI is doing". In this regard Mr. Diby recalled the encounter between traditional chiefs from Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire in Zwedru, in Liberia, earlier this month, which had provided an opportunity to further strengthen security on the border between the two countries.



For his part, Mr. Ladsous said he was happy to have had a wide-ranging discussion on the different area to which UNOCI could provide its contribution to the process being carried out by the Ivorian State and the important reform it had initiated, including that of the security sector. "We are in perfect agreement but there is still work to be done in certain areas and we will provide our support while bearing in mind that 2015 will be an important electoral year for the country," said Mr. Ladsous, adding that everything should be done to ensure the elections are held under the best possible conditions for the consolidation of the situation and for the good of all Ivorians. Mr. Ladsous also expressed satisfaction over the actions of the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara in the management of the crisis in Mali.



"I am also happy to say to the Minister how much we admire the energy, imagination and talent that President Ouattara showed during his two year presidency at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) especially with regard to the management of the crisis in Mali. Côte d'Ivoire played a key role in this regard and this should be recognised. It lived up to its reputation and I believe that the whole of the international community benefitted from this," said the Under Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations.