Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy is expected to pay tribute to the victims of a terrorist attack in Ivory Coast that left 22 people dead including three gunmen.
Sarkozy, who arrived in Abidjan on Thursday, is also expected to hold talks with President Alassane Ouatarra later on Friday.
“This visit, long anticipated, is at the invitation of the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara,” said Brigitte Kuster, spokesman for Sarkozy’s party, Republicans, during the weekly press conference in Paris.
Sarkozy had tweeted his condolences to the affected families soon after the deadly attack at Grand Bassam, expressing support for the Ivorian people.
Ns sommes aux côtés des ivoiriens à leur tour lâchement attaqués par la barbarie terroriste. Nos pensées vont aux victimes, à leurs familles
— Nicolas Sarkozy (@NicolasSarkozy) March 13, 2016
Jihadists from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said they were behind the gun attack at a beach resort in Ivory Coast on Sunday.
Ouatarra has already promised that security in Ivory Coast, the world’s leading cocoa producer, would be stepped up.
