An honor done to the Ivory Coast. But above all, global recognition of the transparency of its debt management. This justifies the presence of Minister Adama Coulibaly at the 9th Conference of the Paris Forum which was held from 7 to 9 July. The Ivorian Minister of Economy and Finance was indeed invited to ”
present the Ivorian experience of transparency in debt management” .
Meeting held at the premises of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, this Friday. It was a question of reflecting on the promotion of good sustainable financial practices to deal with the vulnerabilities of receivables. This is the table presented at the opening of the session, by Emmanuel Moulin, president of the Paris Club and Luky Alfirman, representing Indonesia, which chairs the G20. Subsequently, panels furnished the forum:
debt transparency and information sharing debt vulnerability and green, social and sustainable sovereign bonds.
Afterwards, Minister Adama Coulibaly exposing on the subject presented the Ivorian case. He immediately reminded the audience that ”
transparency has become a critical issue which is part of the dynamic initiated in recent years under the impetus of international financial institutions”.
The emissary of the Ivorian Executive then clarified that “this dynamic has been reinforced within the framework of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative put in place in response to Covid-19, with stronger requirements in terms of quality of information, completeness and frequency of reporting”. As a result, according to the Ivorian minister, ‘ ‘the markets are now subject to tensions and investors show a growing aversion to risk”.And to come to the specific case of his country “which has made significant efforts in terms of transparency in particular, since its return to the international capital market in 2014 with the display of data on different sites and the regular transmission of ‘information to International Institutions, in accordance with commitments”. To achieve this, he instructs, the high finance specialists present at the forum”Côte d’Ivoire has implemented a strategy based on three axes: continuous information for partners and investors on recent economic and financial developments, expanded and facilitated access for partners and investors to information reliable and complete through the publication of monthly bulletins, and the establishment of a specific desk to respond very responsively to requests and requests from partners according to their needs.
On its way, Minister Adama Coulibaly explains that this approach has enabled Côte d’Ivoire to significantly increase its capacity to mobilize resources, and to diversify its multilateral, bilateral and private partners. “The approach is also highly appreciated by rating agencies, resulting in the raising of Côte d’Ivoire’s financial rating, which is now in the top 5 of the best ratings on the African continent, and firmly anchored in the BB category. .Anything which, according to the Minister of Finance, constitutes an encouragement to continue efforts in terms of transparency”. Adama Coulibaly concludes his presentation by emphasizing”transparency as an asset whose main beneficiaries are the States which make the necessary efforts in this area, and which can subsequently reap dividends in terms of credit collection, volume of resources mobilized and interest rates”.
The discussions between the participants that followed focused on certain aspects of the subject, such as the definition of the concept of transparency which, moreover, is not unanimous among all the players. The existence and application of clear procedures leading to public indebtedness, the accounting recording of contingent and collateral debt and the legal and legislative framework for indebtedness were also scrutinized. This, before Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty pronounced the end of the work.
