Côte d’Ivoire is preparing to host the 77th Plenary Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) next year, after organizing the meetings of other International Commodity Organisations such as the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) and the International Coffee Organization (ICO).
Indeed, at the occasion of the 76th Plenary Meeting of ICAC which took place from 22 to 27 October 2017, in Tachkent, Ouzbekistan, the 55 member countries of this inter-governmental organisation have decided to uphold the recommendation made, in May 2017, by its Standing Committee, to hold the next Plenary Meeting of ICAC in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
A strong Ivorian delegation took part in the Tachkent gathering to support the bid from Côte d’Ivoire. The delegation comprised Mr Aly Touré, Permanent Representative to International Commodity Organisations, Dr Adama Coulibaly, Managing Director of Conseil Coton Anacarde (cotton and cashew board) and some of his colleagues, cotton growers as well as representatives of other agencies involved in the Ivorian cotton sector (Firca, Intercoton).
The 76th Plenary Meeting provided member-countries with an opportunity to explore the theme of coton in the era of globalisation and technological progress, including the opportunities and challenges in technology transfer in cotton, ways to exploit genetic diversity and cotton genomes, market trends and inter-fiber competition, recent developments in logistics and insurance systems, textile innovations and nanotechnologies for current and future fabrics.
The 77th Plenary meeting which will be held in Abidjan in December 2018 will mark the 45th anniversary of Côte d’Ivoire’s accession to ICAC as the first West-African member country and enable the Ivorian authorities to play an active part in discussions regarding ways to achieve a sustainable world cotton economy.