The President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E. Mr. Alassane OUATTARA, attended the solemn opening ceremony of the 2019 Senate Session on Thursday, April 11, 2019, at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Foundation in Yamoussoukro.
Speaking on this occasion, the Head of State expressed his joy at participating in this ceremony, which marks the full establishment of the Senate with its 99 members, following the appointment on April 3 of 33 new Senators. Anything that he believes aims to strengthen legislative control over government action, to increase its effectiveness and to work for peace and stability in our country.
In this respect, he indicated that the Senate, which is composed of experienced personalities from various professional or political backgrounds, recognized for their proven expertise and competence in various fields of activity and knowledge, constitutes an ideal framework for high-level exchanges and reflections with a view to contributing to the consolidation and establishment of our young democracy.
That is why the President of the Republic pointed out that Côte d’Ivoire expects this Institution to provide Parliament with the means to take advantage of the richness of participatory and local democracy.
Finally, the Head of State gave some advice and made recommendations to the Senators for the success of their missions, particularly in terms of a rich and close collaboration between the National Assembly and the Senate, and invited his fellow citizens to support this new Institution in order to help it achieve its objectives, for the strengthening of democracy and the development of our beautiful country.
Before the Head of State, the President of the Senate, Mr Jeannot AHOUSSOU-KOUADIO, in his inaugural speech, welcomed President Alassane OUATTARA to the solemn opening ceremony of this Session and paid him a vibrant tribute.
For him, indeed, the vision and political foresight of the President of the Republic as well as his noble ambitions for Côte d’Ivoire, are the levers that have enabled the effective advent of the Senate in the political-institutional landscape of our country.
He added that President Alassane OUATTARA, who is an opportunity for our country, has been able to invent in less than a decade, thanks to his political and strategic genius, a mechanism of his own, to recover a country that has just emerged from crisis, to make it one of the most efficient economies on the continent. He therefore thanked him and expressed his gratitude for his “passion for Côte d’Ivoire” and his “commitment” to the Ivorians.
After having indicated some areas of work for the Senators during this Session, President Jeannot AHOUSSOU – KOUADIO noted all the achievements of the great coalition of Houphouétists led by President Alassane OUATTARA and his elder, President Henri Konan BEDIE, and called for the gathering of all the sons and daughters of the late President Félix HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY, and starting from the whole of Côte d’Ivoire.
At the end of the ceremony, the Head of State signed the Senate’s Golden Book and laid down for posterity with all the Senators.
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