Abidjan, 12 April 2010.... We have come to examine the progress of the peace process and discuss the future role of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), the head of a UN assessment team now in Abidjan, Raisedon Zenenga, said on Monday after a meeting with President Laurent Gbagbo.

Mr. Zenenga, Director of the Africa Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, explained to the press that the mission had met the Ivorian Head of State to hear his views on the progress of the peace process.

He added that his delegation's visit to Côte d'Ivoire was part of regular assessments by the United Nations Secretariat of the implementation of the mandates given to peacekeeping missions in their deployment zones.

The discussions, which lasted more than an hour, covered all aspects of the Ivorian process, including reunification, elections and UN support in the crisis-resolution process.

Earlier on Monday, the delegation had a working session with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Marie Gervais Kacou.

The assessment team arrived in Côte d'Ivoire on Sunday. During its ten-day visit, it is scheduled to meet the main actors involved in the search for a solution to the Ivorian crisis. It will visit the Ivorian hinterland and travel to Ouagadougou for a meeting with the Facilitator of the inter-Ivorian dialogue, President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso.