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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Ivory Coast
Index
Côte d'Ivoire maintained diplomatic relations with all
the
states of West Africa and nearly all francophone countries
on the
continent. It supported--and was most strongly supported
by--the
most conservative of African francophone countries, such
as Zaire,
Gabon, and Niger. Nigeria, which had vast oil deposits and
the
largest population in Africa, presented a special
challenge to
Ivoirian leaders, who feared the radical Marxism and
militant Islam
that stirred different segments of the Nigerian polity.
Consequently, in the late 1960s and early 1970s
Houphouët-Boigny
adopted policies intended to weaken Nigeria. Côte d'Ivoire
supported Biafra in the Nigerian Civil War (1966-70), and
in 1973,
with its francophone neighbors, organized the Economic
Community of
West Africa (Communauté Economique de l'Afrique
Occidentale--CEAO)
to counter the Nigerian-led Economic Community of West
African
States (ECOWAS).
Côte d'Ivoire's policy toward South Africa contrasted
sharply
with the antiapartheid stance common across the continent.
In
keeping with his antirevolutionary fervor,
Houphouët-Boigny
insisted that opening a dialogue with South Africa was far
more
effective than posturing and calls for sanctions. In 1970
he
sponsored an exchange of visits at the ministerial level.
Although
trade with South Africa was officially banned in Côte
d'Ivoire,
some South African produce was freely available in
Ivoirian
markets. In late 1987, Côte d'Ivoire further distanced
itself from
its African counterparts by granting South African Airways
landing
rights for flights between Johannesburg and Europe. Again,
Houphouët-Boigny justified the decision as a positive
effort to
pressure South Africa.
Data as of November 1988
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