 He was a member of the West African mediation group during the Ivorian Civil War and participated in the cease-fire negotiations.He remained Foreign Minister until being replaced by Roland Kpotsra in the government named on December 3, 2002.Panou, who had been ill and had been to France for treatment at Val-de-Grâce Military Hospital, died of a heart attack on March 15, 2003 in Kara Region.