Officially launched during the COP21 Climate Change Conference in December 2015, the “4/1000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security and Climate” aims to ensure that agriculture contributes to combating climate change. French Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll went on mission to Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, to inform the West African partner countries about the initiative and encourage the establishment and diffusion of climate-smart agricultural practices to increase the carbon stock of soils and regenerate degraded soils. Read on

Citing progress in national reconciliation and social cohesion, the United Nations Security Council voted to end sanctions against Côte d'Ivoire and endorsed a plan for the withdrawal of the international peacekeeping mission. The 15-member Council also adopted resolution 2284 (2016) to renew the mandate of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) for a final period until the end of June 2017. Read on

An international team of scholars has launched an ambitious new research project on regional integration and international trade in Africa. Based at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Edinburgh, the African Governance and Space (AFRIGOS) programme examines the "respacing" of the continent through the political drive for integration and the reimagining of Africa's engagement with the global economy. Read on

UEMOA and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have agreed to create a USD 100 million fund to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UEMOA zone. The agreement was signed between the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the Saudia Arabia based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a division of the IDB that focuses on developing private business. Read on