India–Ivory Coast relations SODEMI (Ivorian state-owned company for mineral development) have entered into a joint venture agreement (JVA) for the development of Mount Nimba Iron ore deposits in Ivory Coast (West Africa). The Mt Nimba deposit, spread over 3 countries - Liberia, Guinea and Ivory Coast, is one of the biggest in the Africa. With Ivory Coast still maintaining its status as the economic powerhouse of French West Africa, India is looking to open new factories in the country. Ivory Coast's Minister of Mines, Energy and Petroleum, Monnet Leon, has also urged India to make use of Ivory Coast's vast mineral resources, including
West Africa this land is plains lying less than 300 meters above sea level, though isolated high points exist in numerous states along the southern shore of West Africa. The northern section of West Africa (narrowly defined to exclude the western Maghreb) is composed of semi-arid terrain known as Sahel, a transitional zone between the Sahara and the savannahs of the western Sudan. Forests form a belt between the savannas and the southern coast, ranging from 160 km to 240 km in width. The northwest African region of Mauritania periodically suffers country-wide plagues of locusts which consume water, salt and crops on