Abidjan — Angolan president João Lourenço on Thursday met with his counterpart from Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan, to discuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation.

This was the first stage of the Angolan statesman's official visit to Côte d'Ivoire that started Wednesday, at the invitation of Alassane Ouattara.

On his arrival at the Presidential Palace, João Lourenço was received with military honors and met privately with the Ivorian President.

According to the agenda, the two presidents will witness the signing of various instruments to establish a new framework for mutual cooperation.

As part of the program, the President will be honored with the title of honorary citizen of Abidjan, receiving the parchment and key that symbolizes this title, followed by the Angola/Côte d'Ivoire Business Forum on Friday, where businessmen will analyze areas of cooperation.

Before leaving Abidjan on Friday, João Lourenço will visit the Cemoi-ci factory, which produces chocolate and confectionery.

With a total area of 322,462 km2, Cotê d'Ivoire is located in Central Africa and has a population of 29.9 million inhabitants.

The country is the largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, accounting for 40% of the monetary union's total GDP. It is also the fourth largest exporter of general goods in sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa, Nigeria and Angola) and the world's largest cocoa exporter. ART/VIC/AMP