- EU supports the Ivorian government in electrifying rural communities.
The government of the Ivory Coast is set to receive €6.89 million in funding from the European Union (EU) and the French Development Agency (AFD) to electrify rural communities. The financing agreement was recently signed in Abidjan between Adama Coulibaly, the Ivorian Minister of Economy and Finance, Jean-Christophe Belliard and Jobst von Kirchmann, the ambassadors of France and the European Union (EU) in Ivory Coast.
According to a local news report, the grant is awarded under the framework of the promotion of Access, Smart Grids and Solar Energy project (Paris). The Ivorian government launched it in 2019. The project, covering the whole of Ivory Coast should make it possible to increase investment in the energy sector through two components, including the one devoted to rural electrification, which benefits from EU financing.
“This financial contribution is in addition to the initial financing of the Paris project, amounting to 98 million euros, signed on 28 January 2021 with AFD,” stated Adama Coulibaly. According to the Ivorian Minister of Economy and Finance, the funding recently granted by the EU will allow the electrification of 185 localities.