Guinea’s Minister of National Education, Literacy, Technical Education and Vocational Training, Alpha Bacar Barry, and his Ivorian counterpart, Minister of National Education, Literacy and Technical Education, N’Guessan Koffi, signed a framework agreement for cooperation in the fields of national education and literacy on Friday, April 10, 2026, in Abidjan-Plateau. This agreement was concluded at the end of a five-day working visit by the Guinean delegation to Côte d’Ivoire, from April 6 to April 11, 2026.

The agreement covers seven strategic areas: the training of trainers, including professionalization, exchange of best practices, academic mobility, and structural reforms in training systems; pedagogical and curricular engineering, with a focus on adapting content to local realities and development needs; and the development of educational technologies and digital tools, particularly the digitalization of education systems and the strengthening of digital skills.

It also includes institutional partnerships and scientific cooperation through twinning initiatives, exchanges of expertise, and the mobilization of funding; educational planning and school mapping based on modern decision-making tools.

Additionally, it addresses school nutrition and well-being, aimed at improving students’ learning conditions; as well as curriculum and certification reforms, including the modernization of assessments and diplomas.

The Guinean minister expressed satisfaction with the mission, emphasizing that it would allow his country to benefit from Ivorian expertise: “We have expressed the desire to undertake reforms in several areas. Next year, we will launch a first experience in technical high schools, and we intend to draw heavily from Côte d’Ivoire’s experience in producing training, educational, and literacy content.”

He added: “We are currently developing a school mapping system in Guinea. We will draw inspiration from the Ivorian model to produce an accurate school map.”

For his part, Minister N’Guessan Koffi highlighted the strong ties between the two countries: “Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire are two brotherly nations that maintain exemplary relations.”

“In general, we will be able to work across several areas. This agreement has been signed for five years, and regular exchange programs will take place between Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire so that both countries can build a high-performing education and training system for our West African region,” he stated.

Following discussions at the end of the mission, both parties issued several recommendations, including the relaunch of the implementation of the framework agreement on technical education and vocational training; the effective implementation of the agreement on national education and literacy; the establishment of a steering committee to oversee the agreements and ensure regular meetings; the implementation of the 2026–2028 roadmap for technical and vocational training; and the development and execution of a 2026–2028 roadmap for national education and literacy.

It is worth noting that this working mission is part of the continuation of the framework agreement on technical education and vocational training signed in Abidjan on January 21, 2025.