Ivory Coast stall at the 2017 Feria Internacional de las Culturas Amigas in Mexico City.
Diplomatic relations between the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) and Mexico were established on 13 November 1975.[1] In 1981, Ivory Coast opened an embassy in Mexico City, however, the embassy was closed in 1990 for financial reasons.[1] In 1981, Ivorian Foreign Minister Simeon Aké paid a visit to Mexico to attend the North-South SummitinCancún. In March 2002, Ivorian Foreign Minister Aboudramane Sangaré paid a visit to Mexico to attend the International Conference on Financing for Development Summit in Monterrey.[2] In 2004, Ivory Coast re-opened its embassy in Mexico.[1]
In December 2013, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, while traveling to South Africa to attend the funeral for Nelson Mandela, made a stopover in Ivory Coast. President Peña Nieto was received at the airport by the
Ivorian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Adama Toungara. On his return home to Mexico from South Africa, President Peña Nieto made a second stopover in Ivory Coast and was met by the Secretary General of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Claude Dassys Beke.[1]
In February 2016, the National Autonomous University of Mexico bestowed the "UNESCO-UNAM Jaime Torres Bodet International Award" to Ivorian poet and novelist Bernard Binlin Dadié for his modern literature of the African continent.[4] In May 2019, Ivorian Foreign Minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh paid a visit to Mexico and met with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. During the visit, both nations stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral political dialogue.[5]
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Foreign Minister José Antonio Meade meeting with Ivorian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Adama Toungara in Abidjan; December 2013.
Both nations have signed a few bilateral agreements such as a Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of a Mechanism of Consultation in Matters of Mutual Interest (1999); Agreement on Educational and Cultural Cooperation (1999); Memorandum of Understanding between ProMéxico and the Center for the Promotion of Côte d'Ivoire investment (2016) and a Memorandum of Understanding in Academic Collaboration between both nations Ministries of Foreign Affairs.[1]
In 2018, trade between Ivory Coast and Mexico totaled US$98 million.[6] Ivory Coast's main exports to Mexico include: cacao, nuts and almonds. Mexico's main export to Ivory Coast is petroleum.[3] Mexican multinational company Sukarne operates in Ivory Coast.[7]
