Ivory Coast Cocoa Exports to Resume in Days, UN Envoy Says

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara will soon announce the resumption of cocoa exports, the nation’s envoy to the United Nations said, predicting that the country’s economy will recover quickly following the conflict to remove Laurent Gbagbo from office.

“There is a ban on cocoa exports, so he will make an announcement that the ban is lifted in the coming days,” Ambassador Youssoufou Bamba, speaking at his nation’s UN mission in New York, said of Ouattara. “The Ivorian economy is very strong. As soon as the fighting in Abidjan will be over, everything will get back to normal very quickly.”