A regional business forum on the Abidjan–Lagos and Abidjan–Ouagadougou development corridors ended in Abidjan on 1 April 2026 after three days of meetings hosted at the Palais des Congrès of the Sofitel.
More than 1,100 registration requests were received and nearly 700 people took part, including participants from European and African companies who made up 30% of attendees, the European External Action Service (EEAS) announced on Wednesday.
Delegations attended from six countries along the two corridors and from 11 EU countries, alongside regional bodies including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
The opening session was attended by the Vice President of Côte d’Ivoire, the EU’s Deputy Director-General for International Partnerships (INTPA), and the EU ambassadors to Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.
Discussions covered transport and logistics topics including “integrated corridor models”, urban transport modernisation, railway development, port upgrades, the “energy transition” for road transport, and project finance.
Financing and business-to-business meetings
Countries along the Abidjan–Lagos and Abidjan–Ouagadougou routes presented priority projects in ports, roads, railways, digital infrastructure and logistics, the EEAS said.
Project pipelines were also presented by institutions including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the West African Development Bank (BOAD), ECOWAS, WAEMU and European partners.
The programme also included business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G) and government-to-government (G2G) meetings, as well as workshops on sustainable biofuels, vocational training and start-up innovation.
