Côte d'Ivoire, deprived this year of a contribution from the IMF, is forced to appeal to the bond markets to complete its budget. Frustrated by its credit rating at the OECD, the country mobilizes the lobbying giant APCO.

The OECD had assigned Côte d'Ivoire a credit risk rating which penalizes the country on the capital market. Faced with this unjustified decision according to the leaders, Côte d'Ivoire mandated the APCO firm to obtain a revision of this note. Thus, the Ivorian economy minister Adama Coulibaly signed a contract with the lobbying firm APCO Worldwide, whose six-month mission that he entrusted to APCO officially relates to "strategic communication". The subject of the contract is in fact: annoyed at seeing the OECD give it a mediocre rating - 6 on a scale of 7 - in its world credit risk ranking, Côte d'Ivoire asked APCO to carry out an intense lobbying campaign not only on the institution, in Paris, but also on the European Commission, key interlocutor of the OECD on these issues, and finally on the American government whose voice, within this organization resulting from the Marshall plan , is predominant.