According to a note from CIPRA, to which VerAngola had access, the decoration took place on Thursday night.
"Since the evening of this Thursday, June 27, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, has been awarded the Order 'Grand Cross of the National Order', the highest distinction to which personalities that the Government of Côte d'Ivoire considers to be elevated decorate", the note reads.
The decoration ceremony took place "shortly before the official dinner organized in honor" of the President of the Republic was served, on the occasion of his state visit to Côte d'Ivoire, which began this Thursday.
"On the same occasion, the First Lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço, received the distinction of Commander of the National Order of Cote D'Ivoire", the note also states.
The first day of João Lourenço's visit ended with the official dinner. According to CIPRA, "the gathering at the table brought together numerous guests from Ivorian society, including figures from the State, businesspeople, members of the diplomatic corps, religious entities and those from other sectors".
"To the sound of local music and dance rhythms, interspersed with Angolan compositions choreographed by the Ballet Nacional Ivoiriense, the dinner lasted for more than two hours, in a parade of the best and most representative cuisine of the host country", points out CIPRA.
On the occasion, João Lourenço spoke, in an intervention where he once again highlighted the importance of the relationship with Côte d'Ivoire.
"I am carrying out this state visit today with the aim of correcting this negative trajectory, relaunching and bringing relations between the Republic of Angola and the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire to an appropriate level", said João Lourenço.
The head of state said he went to Côte d'Ivoire "determined to work in coordination" with his counterpart and "with the competent Ivorian authorities in order to reverse this situation and continue, with due regularity, the holding of Bilateral Mixed Commissions, whose first session regrettably and incomprehensibly was only held in April of this year, therefore 39 years after the signing of the General Cooperation Agreement".
"I am encouraged by the perspective that emerged in our contacts today and which is largely reflected in the 14 legal instruments that were signed this morning, as we have a consistent basis for undertaking actions that lead us to intensify bilateral cooperation with pragmatism and with a logic of concrete results, in the sectors of agriculture, staff training, commerce, health, mines and hydrocarbons, tourism and several others, within which it is our responsibility to act assertively, to recover the time lost over these years of relations between our two countries", he added.
Speaking earlier that day, as part of the signing ceremony of the 14 cooperation agreements, João Lourenço said that Angola is looking for the experience of Ivory Coast to increase agricultural production.
According to the President of the Republic, the country wants to collaborate more with Côte d'Ivoire in the field of agriculture, aiming at a considerable increase in agricultural production, as well as ensuring self-sufficiency and producing surplus destined for export.
"Cote d'Ivoire is an agricultural powerhouse and we would like to be one too", he pointed out, quoted by Jornal de Angola.
In addition to the signing of agreements, the decoration and dinner, Thursday was also marked by the ceremony that awarded João Lourenço the status of honorary citizen of Abjidjan.
"It was a chapter of the program full of emotion and symbolism, when President João Lourenço received the key to the city and gained the status of honorary citizen of Abidjan", reads a note from CIPRA, to which VerAngola had access.
"In a ceremony rich in tradition, with a sequence of rituals, João Lourenço was given a traditional name that represents firmness and determination as a warrior, becoming part (symbolically) of the Atcham ethnic group, highlighted in the country's history for having been invincible to over time in defending the territory of Abidjan against successive attacks by other warriors", the statement said.
Another of the moments that marked the day was the invitation made by João Lourenço to the President of Côte d'Ivoire to visit Angola, on a date to be defined, writes Angop.
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