ABIDJAN, Nov. 21 -- Cote d'Ivoire and the European Union (EU) signed a new protocol agreement on sustainable fishing for the period 2024-2028 in Abidjan on Thursday.

The agreement was initialed by Francesca Di Mauro, the EU representative in Cote d'Ivoire, and Sidi Tiemoko Toure, the Ivorian Minister of Animal and Fisheries.

Toure highlighted the significance of this agreement, stating that it "respects the interests of both parties." He expressed the desire to "advance further with the EU into this new era concerning resource sustainability, better fishing practices, and combating illegal fishing."

Mauro said this agreement will support the Ministry of Animal and Fisheries and further promote fishing in Cote d'Ivoire by creating 40,000 direct jobs and 400,000 indirect jobs.

For the European Union, the agreement provides fishing opportunities for 32 vessels, including 25 frozen purse seiners and seven surface longliners, and grants access to Cote d'Ivoire's fishing zone with a reference tonnage of 6,100 tons per year.

The financial compensation for Cote d'Ivoire is set at 740,000 euros per year, totaling 2,967,000 euros (nearly 2 billion CFA francs) over the 2024-2028 period.

The agreement is crucial for the region and for the European Union's tuna fleet, given the importance of the port of Abidjan as one of the primary landing and processing ports for tuna in West Africa.

The protocol is also expected to enhance the attractiveness of the port of Abidjan through its network of businesses equipped to provide goods and services to fishing fleets, along with the presence of two canneries capable of processing between 40,000 and 50,000 tons of tuna annually.

This new protocol follows three previous agreements covering the period from 2008 to 2024.

  - Xinhua