Director Tomáš Kopečný accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, Mr. Vilém Hanuš and Martin Riegel, arrived in Abidjan in the evening on 18 March 2018 together with representatives of Defcon, Česká Zbrojovka Uherský Brod, Excalibur International, Excalibur Army, Sellier & Bellot, Retia, Lom Trade Praha and SVOS.

The working program of director Minister Kopečný, accompanied by the Czech Ambassador in Ghana Margita Fuchsová, was launched on 19 March 2018 at a meeting with the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Ivory Coast, Mr. TOURE SEKO. After the exchange of courtesy phrases, the director Kopečný presented a brief presentation of all Czech companies who accompanied him on the mission. The Chief of Staff, in response to the presentation, said the visit came at a time when armed forces of Ivory Coast needed to rebuild and modernize their arsenal.

In the subsequent discussion, they discussed issues of financing any mediation supply of long-term loans from banks and references Czech companies in other African countries. Chief of Staff is also very interested in the possibility of training pilots from the Ivory Coast for the operation and management of helicopters Mi-24 and Mi-26 in the country. The offer for training both in the form of training on the simulator and practice on helicopters was very welcome.

In conclusion, director Kopečný offered an opportunity to invite Mr. Toure Sekou to the International Exhibition of military units FUTURE FORCES FORUM, which will be held in Prague on 17-19 October 2018 and which could be a benefit for the Ivory Coast armed forces. Mr. Sekou requested an official invitation from the Ministry of Defense and the possibility of meeting with the Chief of Staff of the Czech Republic during his visit to this exhibition.

In the evening of the same day, a reception for invited guests from the Ivory Coast armed forces was organized in the premises of the Sofitel's representative lounge. The reception opened a brief speech of the Czech Ambassador in Ghana, M. Fuchsová, in which she commended the efforts of the Ivory Coast to ensure security and stability throughout the West African region and underlined that the Czech Republic has an eminent interest in eliminating threats such as terrorism, extremism and illegal arms trade. She mentioned the contribution of the Czech Republic to the peacekeeping forces of the European Union in Mali and the readiness of the Czech defense industry to help Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Niger improve their military capabilities. In the following speech of the director Kopečný, the guests were welcomed by highlighting the meaningfulness and importance of these foreign missions for business opportunities on both sides, he noted also that the Czech Republic cooperates with many other African countries and believes that this mission will help develop cooperation.

The mission of the Director of Kopečná continued the following day with a meeting with Deputy Defense Minister PAUL MALAN. During the interview, were mentioned:

• pilot training requirements for 4 Mi-24 helicopters, AN-XX and CASA C-XX airplanes - a total of about 50 people
• the intention to build an air base on the site of a former UN base in DALOA, about 300km from Abidjan - a budget of 10m EUR
• the intention to build 2 large barracks for about 700 soldiers, about 40 km from Abidjan
• the intention to equip in the near future  a contingent of 250 soldiers within the framework of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) in Mali
• requirements for weaponry and equipment of 40 000 members of the armed forces, including the Gendarmerie, but they want to transfer the production to Ivory Coast and implement their own production with the use of their own sources - this is mainly ammunition, light and heavily armored vehicles for the army
• the intention to create a regional counter-terrorism school in cooperation with France by the end of 2018, the budget is 33 billion CFA (i.e. 45 million EUR) - there are infrastructure requirements, standard training grounds and special forces training grounds

After the meeting, a presentation of the Czech defense industry was organized with the participation of high representatives of ground, air and naval forces, logistics and information technology departments, and in the presence of representatives of the special units of the CCDO (Center for Coordination of Decisions Operationnelles) and the Gendarmerie. The defense industry of the Czech Republic was presented by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod - manufacturer of small firearms, Excalibur International - association of companies from the Czech and Slovak defense industry, Excalibur Army - manufacturer of armored equipment, Sellier & Bellot - producer of ammunition, Retia - supplier of radar technology and detection technology, LOM Trade Praha - Provider of both helicopter overhaul and pilot training, and SVOS - armored vehicle manufacturer.

The presentation met with great interest, and Deputy Minister P. Malan made a few remarks:

• they want to start negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministries of the Czech Republic and Ivory Coast - the key will be the exchange of information, especially in the field of personnel training and transfer of technology and experience
• they are interested in upgrading BM21 and RM70
• due to limited financial resources, they will need help from Czech financial institutions with supply financing
• they expect flexible delivery dates, depending on the immediate needs of the army and available financial resources

In the afternoon of March 20, 2018, a presentation of the Czech defense industry for the Ivory Coast Air Force took place at their BOUAKE military base. The Delegation of representatives of Defcon, Retia and Lom Trade Praha was welcomed by deputy Air Force Chief Colonel-major BLEOU EHUI ROGER KACCIAN and the Commander of base Colonel KOUAHO N'GUETTA JULIEN joined with the Commander of the IT and Telecommunication Section, Pilot Training, Technical Equipment, Service services and finance. In the presentations, Czech companies focused mainly on the possibility of cooperation in the protection and monitoring of borders, the fight against terrorism and the possibility of maintenance and overhaul of the existing fleet. The L-39NG was also introduced as part of the presentation, and Air Force representatives were again invited to the FUTURE FORCES FORUM exhibition in Prague where the L-39NG will be presented during the training sessions.

Colonel Kouaho was most interested in the possibility of training his own pilots at Lom Praha as well as offering Mi-24 helicopter repairs. He was mainly interested in the possibility of financing this training with the use of deferred payment due to limited financial sources. Colonel Kouaho welcomed an invitation to an exhibition; he would like to attend if he was officially invited.

On Wednesday, March 21, 2018, a variegation of this mission was prepared in the form of a visit to the former capital of the Ivory Coast Grand Bassam.

Ambassador M. Fuchsová met with Chief Director of bilateral relations Louis L. B. Bony (Directeur Général de la Cooperation Bilaterale) in the morning.    

• The Ambassador informed about the visit of a delegation of the Ministry of Defense, negotiations in the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, by the Chief of Defense Staff and at Air Force. She appreciated what Ivory Coast is doing for security and stability in the region, and furthermore informed about the state of the process of opening the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Abidjan and thanked for the cooperation so far.
• Director Bony welcomed this mission to Abidjan, he mentioned that government is interested in a long-term partnership with the Czech Republic in the field of security. There are a number of projects that can work together. The fight against terrorism is a top priority for Ivory Coast.
• According to director Bony, we must also not forget education, health, agriculture and infrastructure. In this context, he asked whether the Czech Republic would consider the possibility of providing Ivory Coast with a program of government scholarships. He also noted that Ivory Coast relations with Central and Eastern Europe are still waiting for their boom. He expressed the need to continue working on our relationships. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ivory Coast would very much like to facilitate relations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, for example through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
• Ambassador Fuchs has approached the various forms of scholarships that the Czech Republic or Czech universities offer. As with the Memorandum of Understanding, she promised to work on scholarships. She also informed about the planned trip of delegates of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Accra to Ivory Coast in connection with the monitoring of the Czech-Italian migrant reintegration project implemented by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in the country.

The last point of the visit of director T. Kopečný, with the participation of the delegation of the Ministry of Defense and the Czech Ambassador in Ghana M. Fuchsová, was the meeting with Minister of Interior SIDIKI DIAKITE. The Minister stressed the need for direct representation of the Czech Republic in Ivory Coast in order to facilitate bilateral exchanges. The Ambassador assured that the process of setting up the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Ivory Coast is already in the process, and the proposed candidate for Honorary Consul, Mr. Mory DIANE, should be approved shortly. Ambassador Fuchsová further informed the Minister about the active participation of the Czech Republic in a joint project of the European Union and the United Nations in legalizing citizens without nationality, who claim to belong to Ivory Coast mainly in the western part of the country. Part of the project is also integrating these people into society and creating jobs to prevent possible emigration to EU countries.

Minister Diakite highly appreciated this activity and also mentioned other priorities of his ministry:

• border control to identify each person crossing the border
• supplies of equipment for police and special forces CCDO (uniforms, helmets, pistols, ammunition, bulletproof vests, shields, tear gas)
• exchange of special agents for the training of their own forces (well-trained agents are the key to effective police forces)

Due to the great interest shown by the High Representatives of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior of Ivory Coast about products and services offered by representatives of Czech companies, and thanks to offers to participate in specific projects, it can be assumed that the mission fulfilled its purpose and could be the beginning of a prospective and long- term cooperation with partners in Ivory Coast.

Tomáš Zázvorka, Commercial Counselor, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Accra