Brussels, Nov 26 - The European Union has signed an interim trade deal with Ivory Coast that will open EU markets to Ivorian goods with no quotas or import duties, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
Ivory Coast will only partially open up its economy, liberalising 81 percent of imports from European Union countries over a period of 15 years, the Commission said in a statement.
EU shipments to Ivory Coast are mainly industrial machines such as generators and turbines, vehicles including boats, aircraft and cars, as well as chemicals. Ivory Coast is a major agricultural producer, particularly of cocoa and bananas.
The agreement combined the benefits of a trade pact with development assistance targeted at accelerating growth and development in Ivory Coast, it said.
"The final goal remains to conclude a full EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) with all the members of the West African region that will promote competitiveness, growth and investment while accelerating regional integration," the statement said.
Last year, Ivory Coast and Ghana initialled 11th-hour trade deals with EU negotiators, anxious to safeguard their exports before preferential trade terms expired at the end of 2007.