ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST - MAY 12, 2025: The 12th edition of the Africa CEO Forum was officially opened by Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara in the West African country’s largest city Abidjan. During his opening speech, Ouattara warned that global geopolitical, financial, and environmental turbulence poses risks for African economies and populations, adding that they bring “a lot of volatility in the mid and long term that is impacting our economic system, and, of course, the situation and the well-being of our population.” The Ivorian leader pointed to Africa’s persistent challenges, including limited access to financing, terrorism-related insecurity, and political instability across many countries. Despite this, Ouattara said Ivory Coast demonstrated “resilience and a dynamic of strong growth,” at a rate of around 6% in 2024, which is expected to rise to 6.5% in 2025. “I can even say at the continental level, our resilience is reinforced by the diversification of our economy that is carried by the dynamics of the agricultural sector,” he added. Ouattara emphasized the importance of increasing intra-African trade and transforming products and raw materials locally to raise the continent’s added value on the global stage. He also highlighted Africa’s potential in artificial intelligence, citing the continent’s youth as a key asset. “We should do our best to encourage our youth to invest more in this sector,” he added. The two-day summit is expected to bring together approximately 2,000 CEOs, investors, and public sector leaders from more than 75 countries. Among the high-level participants are South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.