Construction work on the International Counter-Terrorism Academy will start next September. This was announced on Monday, May 20, 2019, by the French Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, after a working session with the Minister of State, Ivorian Minister of Defense, Hamed Bakayoko. .

The exchange meeting between the two men took place at the Ministry of State, Ivorian Ministry of Defense, in Abidjan-Plateau. “Normally, the construction of the site begins in September 2019 and is finished within 12 months. This academy project is a major project.

First, because training is essential. Intelligence training, training also for intervention, arrest and sanction forces. He is also a major player in this link with the judicial authorities in the face of terrorism. But he is also politically major for Côte d'Ivoire,” he said.

According to him, France's choice to build this academy in Côte d'Ivoire "is part of its desire to confirm the place and the major role played by the country in the African region". This academy, it should be noted, will be built in Jacqueville (50 km from Abidjan).

The French Minister of the Interior also underlined that the financial part of France in the construction of this academy is 18 million Euros. “The tenders have been launched. The project is underway,” he said.

Christophe Castaner also added that even if Côte d'Ivoire is not today a country targeted by terrorists, what is happening in the international concert shows that there is always a risk. “There was the Grand-Bassam attack that we all remember.

There are attempts that were foiled under the authority of the internal security forces of Côte d'Ivoire with which we had the opportunity to cooperate,” he continued.

Affirming that interaction is essential in the fight against terrorism. “We need to strengthen it further.

To this end, we have addressed certain subjects which are absolutely essential for the security, both of the inhabitants of Côte d'Ivoire, the French, but globally for the territory in which we are,” he noted.

He also underlined that he discussed with the Minister of State, Hamed Bakayoko, other subjects of cooperation which must be further developed between the gendarmeries of the two countries.

In the same vein, the Minister of State, Minister of Defence, for his part, hailed the "very dynamic" cooperation between Côte d'Ivoire and France. Especially in the area of security. "We talked about how we can speed things up," he said.