Abidjan, September 9, 2015 (ECA) On Wednesday September 9, 2015, the conference room on the 20th floor of the SCIAM building in Abidjan hosted the workshop to launch the Guide to Priority Project Cycle Management for Côte d'Ivoire, placed under the Presidency of the Technical Advisor of the Minister of State, Minister of Planning and Development, Mr. Anatole TOHOUGBE, Representative of the Minister. The fifty (50) participants from the public sector, the private sector and the research sector were well informed on the use of this management tool for priority projects. The guidance note for the Guide was distributed during this workshop, which gathered the comments and relevant observations of all the stakeholders.

This workshop was also put to good use to share with all the stakeholders the origin and the allocation of resources for Côte d'Ivoire by the ECA and will enable the production of a Guide which will highlight the aspects related to training and appraisal as well as to the monitoring-evaluation of priority projects.

This Guide to the project life cycle will contribute efficiently to setting up a database of projects, thus facilitating the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP 2012-2015) underway in Côte d'Ivoire as well as that of the second generation for the period 2016-2020.

As a reminder, the goal of the PND 2012-2016, developed in the framework of a participative approach, is to transform Côte d'Ivoire into an emerging country by 2020. As a result of the NDP, Côte d'Ivoire has placed planning back in the heart of public action by equipping itself with a new development strategy that is clear and coherent and will enable it to achieve vigorous growth that is maintained, supportive and a source of jobs.

It should be noted that the official opening ceremony of this workshop was marked by the presentation of the Technical Advisor of the Minister of State, Minister of Planning and Development of Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Anatole TOHOUGBE, who in particular praised and commended the exemplary cooperation between the ECA and his country before inviting the participants to analyze without complacency the content of the Guide to be developed.

Then the speech of Dr. Dimitri Sanga, who, while recognizing the efforts deployed by the Government of Côte d'Ivoire to host the different meetings of the ECA, said that "the present meeting forms part of the permanent efforts of the ECA aiming at offering to Member States and Regional Economic Communities technical assistance in support of the formulation and implementation of strategies aiming at promoting their economic and social development which will lead to the structural transformation of their economies in order to have sustainable economic growth and inclusive development". He added that "the support of the ECA in developing the Guide to Priority Project Cycle Management finds all its relevance in view of the current context here in Côte d'Ivoire, of renewal and the strengthening of 'Development Planning' operations".