Ministers from France and Ivory Coast signed a document confirming the return of the military base shortly after the Ivorian flag was raised in the base’s parade ground.
The 230-hectare Port-Bouet military camp flanking Ivory Coast’s main city has been a fixture in the country’s life for decades and helped stabilise the world’s top cocoa producer after coups and unrest broke out in the stable nation after 2000.
The withdrawal of French troops, announced by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in December, is part of a regional trend of African countries diluting military ties with France.
Read more‘Time to move on’: France faces gradual decline of influence in Africa
The links between the two armies date back to the early 1960s and a defence agreement signed between the two countries in the aftermath of Ivory Coast’s independence.
About 1,000 French soldiers were deployed in Port-Bouet and helped in the fight against jihadists, who launch regular attacks across the wider region.
Both sides said the handover had been agreed upon and carried out harmoniously.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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