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Press Release

MCC Acting CEO Highlights New Partnership with Côte d'Ivoire at CSIS

For Immediate Release

November 8, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 8, 2017 – Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Acting CEO Jonathan Nash today joined President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire Alassane Ouattara and President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Dr. John Hamre for an event recognizing MCC’s new Côte d'Ivoire Compact.

MCC and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire yesterday signed a five-year, $524.7 million compact to spur economic growth and reduce poverty in Côte d’Ivoire, supporting regional stability and security, and new business opportunities.

Following a keynote address by President Ouattara, Acting CEO Nash highlighted the opportunities presented by MCC’s new partnership with Côte d'Ivoire in a panel discussion alongside President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa Florizelle Liser and Secretary General to the President of Côte d'Ivoire Minister Patrick Achi.

“Our investments support the self-sufficiency of our partner countries around the globe—encouraging stability, security, and prosperity abroad and here at home,” MCC Acting CEO Jonathan Nash said. “This compact is really about is opportunity—the opportunity for education, training, access, jobs—all of which are critical, especially in a country where more than half of the population is under age 24.”

After passing only five of 20 policy indicators in 2013, the Government of Côte d'Ivoire adopted MCC's scorecard as its roadmap for reform and established an inter-ministerial committee to develop and implement those reforms. After Côte d'Ivoire passed MCC's scorecard in 2015, MCC's Board of Directors selected the country as eligible to develop a compact.

"The MCC scorecard became a roadmap for reform, and not just for the grant itself, but because of how it signals to the private sector that we are open for business," Secretary General to the President of Côte d'Ivoire Minister Patrick Achi said.

"A number of our company members are investing in Côte d'Ivoire because of their improvements on the MCC scorecard indicators," President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa Florizelle Liser said.

MCC’s compact with Côte d'Ivoire is designed to support growth and private investment by building workforce capacity, reducing transportation costs, and opening new markets.

The Côte d'Ivoire Compact’s Skills for Employability and Productivity Project will increase access to secondary education and teacher training, and will support a public-private partnership to develop an innovative new technical vocation education and training (TVET) model.

To reduce transportation costs and move goods and people more freely, the compact’s Abidjan Transport Project will rehabilitate roads in and around the port area and improve road network management and maintenance.

The compact is expected to benefit more than 11 million people.

New procurement and business opportunities associated with the Côte d’Ivoire Compact will be announced in the coming months. Visit the Work With Us section of MCC’s website to learn more.

Video of the full event can be found on the CSIS website.

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The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. Government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to poor countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights. Learn more about MCC at www.mcc.gov.