Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara received his two predecessors Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié on Thursday, a "
reunion meeting
" between the three men who had not been reunited since the serious post-election crisis of 2010-2011, a sign of the calming of the political climate.
In a warm atmosphere, President Ouattara welcomed Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié with whom he spoke for just over an hour.
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"
Today's meeting was a reunion meeting to renew contact and exchange in truth
", on the major issues of the nation, according to a brief joint statement read by Laurent Gbagbo at the end of the meeting.
The latter was chosen to read the text in his capacity as "
youngest
", since at 77 years old, he is younger than Alassane Ouattara (80 years old) and Henri Konan Bédié (88 years old).
The three men also wanted this meeting to be a ferment of "
the easing of the national socio-political climate in Côte d'Ivoire
".
They did not communicate more on the holding of their exchanges.
The idea of a meeting between the three men was one of the recommendations of the political dialogue between power and opposition held at the beginning of the year to calm the political climate in Côte d'Ivoire.
Alassane Ouattara, however, wanted this meeting to become "
regular
".
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“
Whenever my predecessors have time to resume these exchanges, I will call on them to gather their opinions and recommendations.
It will be a very good thing for the nation to hear, to listen to my predecessors, their knowledge of the country, their experience and obviously also the political weight they represent
,” he added.
The country has experienced several political crises in recent years involving these three men who have occupied center stage for decades.
This is the first time that all three have been together since the 2010-2011 crisis.
At the time, the presidential duel between Laurent Gbabgbo and Alassane Ouattara, then supported by Henri Konan Bédié, led to a post-election crisis that left 3,000 dead and led to Mr. Gbagbo's arrest in April 2011. Acquitted by international justice, he returned in June 2021 to Abidjan and launched a new opposition party.
In 2020, electoral violence during the presidential election left 85 dead and 500 injured.
The ballot, boycotted in particular by Mr. Bédié, saw the re-election of President Ouattara for a controversial third term, deemed unconstitutional by the opposition.