First convoy could mark reopening of north-south trade route

The arrival of a convoy of 29 trucks in Cote d’Ivoire’s port city of Abidjan from northern landlocked neighbour Burkina Faso may lead to a resumption of transit trade between the two countries after a nearly four-year war-imposed blockage, an official said on Tuesday. The cotton convoy passed through the rebel-controlled north of Cote d’Ivoire as well as a UN and French monitored buffer zone before reaching the port in the southern government-controlled half of the West African country. According to Ivorian officials from the Ministry of Transport the convoy was a trial run for the resumption of overland shipments to Abidjan from Burkina Faso. Due to security concerns, the Burkinabe transporters “waited a long time but this year they finally said: let’s give it a try,” Adama Coulibaly, who heads a special ministerial task force to improve overland trade, told IRIN. “Their first impressions were positive,” said Coulibaly. “We really hope that they decide to ship the rest of their 50,000 tonnes of cotton to Abidjan. Then the other goods will come automatically.” Until the outbreak of war in September 2002, Abidjan port was the main transit point for imports and exports throughout francophone West Africa. The rebellion that left the country split in two has had a devastating impact on landlocked nations like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, leaving their economies cut off from the cheapest route to the international market. Though a 7,000-strong UN force and 4,000 French troops maintain a cease-fire, traders have shied away from using the old route as rebels and government security forces that man hundreds of checkpoints along the road are notorious for extortion and racketeering. And in the government-run south, Burkinabe truck drivers are especially targeted for cash because they are considered to be sympathetic to the rebel New Forces movement. But at a fixed price of 100,000 CFA per truck - around US $200 - the transporters were guaranteed a safe passage, ministry official Coulibaly said. “The security forces have reassured us that they will facilitate the arrival of the convoys in the Ivorian ports,” he said.