Mrs. Dominique Ouattara, First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire is the godmother of the 25th edition of the Paris Chocolate Fair which will take place from October 29 to November 3 in the French capital. During the inaugural evening, on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, at the Porte de Versailles Pavilion 4, the wife of the Head of State not only presented the main areas of intervention of her foundation which will benefit from the benefits of this show, but also and above all, she wanted to present the remediation actions implemented by Côte d'Ivoire to eradicate child labour in the cocoa production chain.
We offer you the entirety of his speech during this evening.

Ladies and gentlemen

I am very pleased to address you this evening, in front of this audience of high personalities, on the occasion of the inaugural evening of the 25th edition of the Paris Chocolate Fair.

First of all, I would like to thank the organizers of this beautiful event, Mrs. Sylvie Douce and Mr. François Jeantet for choosing me as godmother of this 25th edition of the chocolate fair and congratulate them for their commitment and determination to promote chocolate for 25 years.

Their great work, their creativity, have made the chocolate fair an internationally renowned event that, to date, has brought together more than 10 million people from all continents.

I ask you to applaud them very much.

Now, I would also like to greet and congratulate Mr Gérald PALACIOS, who is now taking the reins of the Salon du Chocolat, and wish him every success in this great adventure.

Ladies and gentlemen

Beyond being a personal tribute, my presence in this place honors above all my country Côte d'Ivoire, which is the world's leading cocoa producer.

Indeed, with an annual production of 2 million tons, cocoa represents 15% of the Gross Domestic Product, and nearly 40% of Côte d'Ivoire's export earnings.

It is a very important and strategic commodity for the Ivorian economy.

That is why we feel concerned in the first place, by the chocolate fair which has become a real institution.

In addition, the Salon du Chocolat has a social dimension that particularly touches me.

Indeed, for many years, the funds collected at the end of this event have been donated to a humanitarian association in order to save the lives of vulnerable children.

This year, the organizers of the show have chosen to dedicate the profits of this edition, to thousands of disadvantaged children in Africa, through the Children Of Africa Foundation.

It is a mark of generosity that I sincerely appreciate and for which I would like to express my gratitude to them.

Ladies and gentlemen

I would like to briefly introduce you to the Children Of Africa Foundation, which is the lucky beneficiary of this 25th edition.
I created the Children Of Africa Foundation in 1998 to help poor children and mothers in Africa.

We operate in 12 African countries through the health, education and social sectors.

In the field of health:

The Foundation has just built and made available to the Ivorian population, a modern hospital, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and specially dedicated to mother and child.

With a capacity of 130 beds, this hospital is non-profit and provides free care for 25% of indigent patients.

In addition, the Foundation regularly organizes ophthalmological caravans and free vaccinations for the benefit of thousands of disadvantaged children.

In the field of education:

Each school year is an opportunity for the Children Of Africa Foundation to travel throughout Côte d'Ivoire, offering school kits to thousands of children from poor families.
The list of the Foundation's actions would be long, but I would like to mention another one:
- The construction of 3 centers dedicated to child victims;
- that of a school group and a college,
- as well as that of an orphanage for abandoned children.

In the other 11 countries where the Foundation operates, we subsidize reception centres for vulnerable children and carry out specific actions.

Also the funds we will receive during this edition of the chocolate fair, will be used to support the actions of the Foundation across all our 12 African countries.

Ladies and gentlemen

At this point in my remarks, I would like to address an issue that comes up often, namely that of child labour in the cocoa supply chain.

Indeed, this problem is a sad reality that many countries around the world are facing, and Côte d'Ivoire is unfortunately no exception.

Of course, my dear husband, the President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire are resolutely committed to eliminating this scourge and have taken this problem into their own hands with determination.

Personally, with the National Committee to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labour, which I chair,
we are working with all partners to ensure the protection and promotion of children's rights and to eliminate this scourge from our country.

In this context, we have carried out extensive awareness campaigns among cocoa-producing families and communities and built many schools near the plantations.

I would also like to thank the chocolatiers present here and the cocoa manufacturers who do not fail to participate in this collective effort, as well as the Conseil Café Cacao de Côte d'Ivoire, which is an active partner in this fight.

In addition, the State of Côte d'Ivoire has adopted a law since 2015, to make school compulsory, which was not the case before.

All these actions have significantly improved the school enrolment rate in rural areas, which rose from 59% in 2008 to more than 90% in 2019.

In addition, since child labour is mainly caused by the poverty of producers, the Ivorian government is making every effort to improve their incomes and living conditions.

Finally, the new forestry code adopted by Côte d'Ivoire makes it possible to preserve the environment in order to produce ethical and responsible cocoa and will, I hope, solve the problem of the occupation of classified forests.

Ladies and gentlemen

To return to our inaugural evening, it promises to be magical, with the famous group Caléma, as well as the sublime fashion show announced by Sylvie.

To this end, I would like to greet all the talented stylists who will present their magnificent creations and, especially the Ivorian stylist Gilles TOURE, who made for the first time, a chocolate dress worn by Miss Côte d'Ivoire 2017.

This evening will of course allow us to discover the know-how of the best chocolatiers and pastry chefs from all over the world.

Finally, I would like to thank all the personalities; the ambassadors of the Producing Countries; the stars present here too and, our friends in the press, for coming to attend this inaugural evening.

Without further ado, I declare open the 25th edition of the Paris Chocolate Fair.

Excellent evening to all.

Thank you.