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On behalf of the Minister, the Chief of staff of the Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Resources of Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Gouromenan Kouakou Assoumany proceeded this morning to the official opening of the Exhibition at the Treichville Palais de la Culture, Abidjan. He was assisted by other officials such as the Swiss Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Mrs Anne Lugon-Moulin, whose country is funding most of the organisation and holding of the Exhibition, the President of the Board of Directors of COFENABVI (Confederation of National Federations of the Livestock and Meat Sector of West Africa), Mr. Issaka Sawadogo, the representative of the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire and the Representative of the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture.

The various speakers welcomed the fact that the financial support of the Swiss Cooperation, through the PACBAO Project (Support Programme for Livestock Marketing in West Africa), had facilitated the holding of this second edition of SIBVAO, an opportunity for modernising the equipment and the entire livestock-meat sector in the region. It is also an accelerator for capacity building of all institutions involved in the organisation of SIBVAO 2023.

For COFENABVI officials, it is necessary to institutionalise the West African Livestock and Meat Exhibition. For WACTAF (West African Association of Cross-border Trade in agro-sylvo-pastoral and halieutic food products, co-organiser of the Exhibition, the theme of this edition "Livestock-Meat value chain, a tool for increasing regional trade and job creation in West Africa in a context of insecurity" is a challenge. Indeed, intra-regional trade in livestock/meat cannot be truly promoted until the problem of growing insecurity in the sub-region is addressed.

The opening of the Exhibition was followed by a visit to the stands and the Camel Fair area. The inaugural conference on current regional initiatives in the sector and panels 1 and 2 on youth employability in the sector and the challenges of developing and growing the livestock/meat value chain in West Africa, Mauritania, and Chad, are scheduled to begin tomorrow morning. Access to the exhibition is free of charge.