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PRESENTATION
KEY DATES
EXECUTIVE POWER
LEGISLATIVE POWER
JUDICIAL POWER
CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
FOREIGN POLICY
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| FOREIGN POLICY |
His Excellency ALI BONGO ONDIMBA
PRESIDENT OF THE GABONESE REPUBLIC,
HEAD OF STATE.
Gabon's foreign policy is characterised by its regional as well as international dimension and by the role of mediator often assumed by the late Omar Bongo Ondimba, which the current President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, tends to continue.
Regional dimension:
Gabon is a major member of most of the regional institutions, in particular:
- the AU, African Union of which Gabon has the vice-presidency, represented by Jean Ping;
- the Peace and Security Council of the African Union;
- ECCAS, the Economic Community of Central African States;
- CEMAC, Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa;
- BEAC, Bank of Central African States;
- BDEAC, the Central African States' Development Bank, of which Michael Adandé, from Gabon, has been chairman since January 2010.
In addition, the chief of State Ali Bongo Ondimba travels widely all over Africa: on 20 December 2009, he was in N'Djamena for the summit meeting of OHADA (Organization for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa). On 17 January 2010, he attended the 10th summit of CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) and from 31 January to 2 February 2010, the Gabonese President was in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where he took an active part in the 14th assembly of chiefs of State and government of the African Union (AU) devoted to the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
International dimension:
Gabon holds an increasingly important position at international level, thanks to its economic relations with Europe, America and Asia. France and China, in particular, are preferential partners.
Diplomatic relations are also in full expansion. As witnessed by the presence of Ali Bongo Ondimba at the World Summit on Food Security run by the FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation) in Rome in November 2009, then at the Copenhagen summit in December of the same year.
Gabon's role as mediator:
The late Omar Bongo Ondimba often assumed the role of mediator to resolve the crises that have shaken the African continent. For example, he was involved in negotiating the signing of the peace agreement that put an end to the civil war which was raging in Congo-Brazzaville in 1999. He also invested his efforts towards resolving the conflicts in Central Africa in 2002 and in Chad in 2006.
Like his late father Omar Bongo Ondimba, Ali Bongo Ondimba offers his assistance to help resolve the conflicts that could shake Africa, while remaining humble as to the function of mediator:
« You do not pronounce yourself mediator. You become mediator at the request of the belligerents, of those who are in difficulty. I therefore cannot say that I am going to pronounce myself mediator like Omar Bongo Ondimba. I can only state that Gabon is always available to help work towards building and consolidating peace. This is our policy. We have learnt from Omar Bongo the benefits of this policy of constantly seeking peace. And this remains a constant for us. We have not changed in this respect. »
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