Security chiefs will meet before border reopens

Military and security chiefs from Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso will meet in the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, on 28-29 May to discuss reopening the border which has been officially closed for eight months as a result of the Ivorian civil war, officials from the two countries said in a joint statement.

The civil war, which broke out on September 19 last year, left rebel forces in control of northern Cote d'Ivoire, blocking the road and railway to the port of Abidjan, which handled most of landlocked Burkina Faso's external trade.

TheIvorian authorities accused Burkina Faso of supporting the rebellion, a claim denied by the government in Ouagodougou. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), among others, have since been trying to reconcile the two countries.

The thaw in relations has accelerated since a peace agreement led the Ivorian rebels to join a government of national reconciliation last month. Last week a Burkinabe ministerial delegation visited Abidjan and an Ivorian delegation, headed by transport minister Innocent Kobenan Anaky, made a return visit to Ouagadougou on Monday and Tuesday.

The proposed meeting of security chiefs to "define modalities for reopening the border as soon as possible" and support "the political will of the [Burkina and Ivorian] governments to resume economic and commercial activities" was announced at the end of his talks in Ouagadougou.

The joint statement said the security chiefs would discuss reopening the railway from Abidjan to Ouagadougou as soon as possible.

SITARAIL, the French company which operates the railway line, said on 15 May that rail services from Abidjan port to Burkina should resume by the end of May. An inspection train has already made a reconnaissance trip through rebel-held territory to the Burkinabe border and verified that the track remained in good condition.

"Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire are tied by geographic and historicals links," Kobenan Anaky said. "[They] have the same destiny and must be able to quickly start to work and cooperate together. The axis between Ouagadougou and Abidjan represents the backbone of the regional equilibrium."

The two sides agreed that French and ECOWAS peace-keeping forces in Cote d'Ivoire would help to make the border safe for both rail and road traffic.

The reopening of the trade route to Burkina Faso should also help the neighbouring landlocked countries of Mali and Niger which also traditionally rely on Abidjan to handle much of their external trade.

All three countries are anxious to clear tens of thousands of tonnes of goods that have remained stuck in the port for the past eight months.

Cote d'Iovire hosted up to three million Burkinabe immigrants and their offspring at the time of the coup attempt. Many had lived in the country for decades. Following government accusations by government that Burkina Faso supported was supporting rebels and the harassment of many Burkinabe leaving in Cote d'Ivoire, some 275,000 Burkinabe nationals fled back to Burkina Faso.