Ivory Coast–Turkey relations explained

Ivory Coast–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Ivory Coast and Turkey.

Historical Relations

For most of the 20th century, President Houphouët-Boigny’s and Turkey's foreign policy aligned: Both countries have been staunch supporters^[1] of Israel and considered the Soviet Union as a threat.

Bilateral relations became tense in the early 1960s^[2] when President Houphouët-Boigny assisted French nuclear testing in Algeria and refused to (1) condemn France for its response to Algerian War and (2) provide Algeria with any assistance.

Relations became tense^[3] again in February 1986, when Houphouët-Boigny announced the decision to move his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in exchange ^[4] for Israeli aid. This decision was in defiance of a 1980 United Nations Security Council resolution calling on all countries to withdraw their embassies from that city.

Presidential Visits

Guest	Host	Place of visit	Date of visit
President Alassane Ouattara	President Abdullah Gül	Çankaya Köşkü, Ankara	March 25-28, 2014^[5]
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	President Alassane Ouattara	Abidjan	February 28-29, 2016

Economic Relations

• Trade volume between the two countries was 409.7 million USD in 2019 (Turkish exports/imports: 220.9/188.8 million USD).
• There are direct flights from Istanbul to Abidjan since July 2012.

See also

• Foreign relations of Ivory Coast
• Foreign relations of Turkey

Notes and References

1. Mundt, Robert. Historical Dictionary the Ivory Coast. (African J. of Historical Dictionaries, No. 41.) Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1987.
2. Blackburn, Brigitte. "L'Afrique poignardee par l'occident: Le cas de la Cote d’Ivoire," Africa International [Dakar, Senegal], No. 194, April 1987, 13-16.
3. Delorme, Nicole. "The Foreign Policy of the Ivory Coast." pp. 118–135 in Olajide Aluko (ed.), The Foreign Policies of African States. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1997.
4. William Zartman and Christopher L. Delga- do (eds.), The Political Economy of Ivory Coast. New York: Praeger, 1984
5. Web site: Relations between Turkey and Côte d’Ivoire. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey.