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It Sure Looks Like Ivanka Enjoyed Herself On Her Africa Trip
The first daughter flew from Ethiopia to Ivory Coast on Tuesday for the second stop on her tour to promote women's economic empowerment in Africa. In Ivory Coast, she met with the vice president, pledged $2 million in aid, and visited a cocoa farm. And the photos of Ivanka Trump in Ivory Coast show her diplomacy in action.
Throughout the trip, Trump had been tweeting updates of her travels. "Next stop Cote d’Ivoire!" she posted Tuesday morning, writing the Ivory Coast in French. Later in the day, she met with Vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan at the presidential palace while the education minister signed a decree creating a "Gender Unit prioritizing women & girls’ access to quality education & training," Trump posted.
On Wednesday, Trump visited a cocoa farm in Adzope with representatives from USAID. Before her visit, Trump posted statistics that say despite women owning 25% of cocoa farms in the country and making up 68% of the cocoa labor force, they get just 21% of the money the industry generates in the country.
Later, she posted a video at the cocoa farm and announced a $2 million public-private partnership between USAID and the World Cocoa Foundation to help women in the industry there. According to the AP, as of 2018, the World Economic Forum ranked Ivory Coast 131 out of 144 countries for gender equality. Trump's visit may start to change that.
Dancing Seems To Be A Reoccurring Theme Of Her Trip
Ivanka's dance moves at an event in Ethiopia gained some attention, and she kept up her groove in Ivory Coast, too.
Meeting The Vice President
The visit with Vice President Duncan was at the presidential place, and provided lots of official photo ops.
A Flavorful Visit
Trump's visit to the cocoa farm included a sampling.
A Crash Course On Cacao
Inside the cocoa pod are the beans, which can then be turned into chocolate.
She Was Welcomed With Song
Tim McCoy, vice president of country relations for the World Cocoa Foundation, told VOA that women cocoa farmers in the country are not paid a fair share of the cocoa trade's earnings. "Often times women are left out of the decision making process — women do a lot of the work but women often don’t have the ability to own land," he said.
And Ivanka Was Totally Into It
Cayat, the cocoa cooperative that Trump visited, is an exception. "What we’re seeing here is a change in that and an example of women really taking responsibility and exercising really amazing leadership,” McCoy told VOA about the company.
She Didn't Miss A Second Chance To Dance
One Cayat employee told VOA: "We want our children to be able to go to school — we want to be happy like other women."
Dancing Vids Don't Lie
Not everyone, though, is as enthusiastic about Trump's visit as the women that she visited. Her visit is juxtaposed with Trump administration budget proposals that would cut foreign aid by the billions. The State Department also announced that it would expand the Global Gag Rule to target organizations that advocate for abortion — not just the abortion providers themselves.
The visit's not over yet. Trump will stay in the Ivory Coast for a meeting of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi), a project she helped get off the ground. "I’m honored to be speaking at the FIRST ever #WeFiAbidjan Regional Summit hosted by @WorldBank in Côte d’Ivoire!" she tweeted Wednesday.
