The president of the Ivory Coast will meet on July 14 with former presidents Gbagbo and Bédié

July 7. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, will hold a meeting with former presidents Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié on July 14, in the midst of their efforts to resolve the political crisis and address the situation in the African country.

“The meeting between the president and the former heads of state Gbagbo and Bédié is scheduled for July 14, 2022,” said the spokesman for the Ivorian Executive, Amadou Coulibaly, at a press conference.

Likewise, he stressed that the three politicians “talk regularly” and added that “it is very important that the Ivorian people know it”, although he did not give details about the talks agenda.

The meeting will coincide with the National Day of France, the former metropolis, and will come after a first meeting between Ouattara and Gbagbo on July 27, 2021, shortly after the former president’s return to the country after several years in exile.

The meeting was the first between the two politicians after the 2010 presidential elections, which led to a civil war after Gbagbo refused to acknowledge his defeat against Ouattara, a conflict that left more than 3,000 dead.

Previously, Ouattara and Bédié had met in November 2020 to try to bring positions closer together after the controversial elections on October 31, in which the head of state obtained a third term in the midst of the opposition boycott.

The meeting between Ouattara and the two former presidents is part of the recommendations of the political dialogue between the government and the opposition, held between February and March to try to address the crisis and reduce political tensions in Côte d’Ivoire.