This Tuesday, September 19, the president of the Gabonese transition made his first trip abroad. General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was in Equatorial Guinea where he met his counterpart, President Teorodo Obiang Nguema. A symbol as relations between the two neighbors were seesawed when Ali Bongo was in power. And there was no shortage of topics for discussion.
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The president of the Gabonese transition Brice Oligui Nguema wanted to show that he took this trip very seriously. He traveled with five ministers, his secretary general, members of his cabinet and the president of the Senate. “ It’s a sister country. The Equatorial Guinean president is the dean of the sub-region, we must pay tribute and listen to his advice », Indicates Télesphore Obame Ngom. The latter, spokesperson for the presidency, explains that the two heads of state met face-to-face for more than an hour. Session during which the Gabonese general wanted to present the new power and explain the situation in the country.
A necessary pedagogy while the regional organization Cééac, chaired by Malabo, suspended Gabon after the putsch. “ We must reassure our partners, give the right information, explain the causes. There have been other coups in Africa, but the Gabonese context is different, the situation returned to normal very quickly », Indicates Télesphore Obame Ngomo, adding that Libreville is counting on its neighbor to pass the message in the region and obtain the lifting of sanctions.
The choice of Malabo as the first destination is not insignificant, whereas in their time, Omar and Ali Bongo had gone to France and China. “If we decide to govern differently, that’s normal. Some Western countries did not welcome the change of power. It would have been unwise to go and consult them as a priority», Indicates the presidential spokesperson.
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