Ivory Coast's PM Amadou Gon Coulibaly has passed away after a cabinet meeting, BBC News reported.

The 61-year-old head of government was selected as the presidential candidate by the ruling party. He was supposed to run for president in October.

Gon Coulibaly recently returned from France, where he had been receiving heart treatment for two years.

According to the president of the country, the PM had become unwell during a weekly meeting in the cabinet. He was hospitalized and later died in a hospital.