Ivory Coast gets US nod for direct flights

Abidjan

IVORY Coast has received authorisation from the United States to start direct flights between the two countries, officials said, boosting the West African nation's hopes of becoming a regional transport hub.

The world's top cocoa producer, Ivory Coast is emerging from a decade-long political crisis that ended in a brief civil war in 2011, and is now attracting investors again. The African Development Bank moved its headquarters back to the commercial capital Abidjan last year, after an 11-year hiatus.