The United States is resuming usual business with junta-led Gabon, 13 months after a bloodless coup toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his clan dynasty that had been in power for more than half a century.
But Gabon, condemned like the other ‘coup boys’ including Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, quickly reset its relations with the West, including Washington, even as the African Union maintained its traditional whip of suspending illegal changers of government.
Gabon remains suspended from African Union activities. But Libreville is now in the good books of the US, which wants to cement relations around democracy and human rights as much as trade and other economic issues.
Gabon’s junta is led by a former head of the Republican Guard, an elite unit of the country's military, known as Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema. General Nguema was swiftly sworn in as transitional President following a coup that deposed his cousin Ali Bongo Ondimba just minutes after he won re-election in a contested vote in August last year.
Ali Bongo Ondimba had ruled the country since succeeding his father, Omar Bongo, in 2009 and was set to extend his 14-year rule before he was ousted.
His father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, had ruled the country for nearly 42 years until his death in 2009.
Following the coup, the United States of America announced that it had suspended non-humanitarian assistance to Gabon and would only resume aid to the central African nation in return for a concrete restoration of a democratic process.
Last week, Washington rolled out the red carpet for General Nguema, hailing the junta leader as a champion of democracy, reversing its policy on the country and declaring its intention to strengthen its partnership with Libreville.
“Gabon’s commitment to a democratic transition creates unprecedented opportunities to expand and strengthen this partnership and work together to support inclusive governance and promote respect for human rights,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement as Washington and Libreville marked 64 years of diplomatic relations on October 3.
The shift in US policy towards Gabon followed a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Gabon’s Transition President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema on October 1.
During the meeting, Blinken received an update on Gabon’s democratic transition and “reaffirmed the US commitment to supporting Gabon’s efforts to implement an inclusive and transparent political process culminating in free and fair elections,” the State Department spokesperson said in the statement.
The US has rolled out a raft of measures to deepen and strengthen the economic partnership to support the development of the Gabon's economy, expand trade cooperation and increase investment.
Mr Miller said Washington is seeking to strengthen and elevate ties with Gabon on issues of mutual interest, including strong partnerships to protect the environment, foster economic development and strengthen regional security.
As part of its support for Gabon, the US has announced the convening of the second Local Democracy Forum in Libreville in the coming months with distinguished US mayors and Gabonese leaders to exchange views on the role of local leaders in a democracy, and the placement of a full-time USAid country manager in Libreville in 2025.
Washington says it is supporting $2 million in new programmes to protect Gabon’s African forest elephants and reduce human-elephant conflict.
“The United States is also committed to increasing our security partnership with Gabon and expanding the Gabonese security forces’ capabilities to combat their internal security threats and contribute to regional security efforts,” the State Department statement added.
The case of Chad
Unlike in Niger, where Washington also cut off aid after the military engineered a coup and deposed President Mohamed Bazoum in July last year, the turn of policy direction on Gabon is similar to that on Chad, where the US was both cautious in condemning flawed elections in May this year and cultivating better ties with a possible role player in a troubled region.
And when the US turned around, the African Union remained stuck to its guns, refusing to recognise the election results, which confirmed Mahamat Idriss Itno as the President.
The junta in Gabon has scheduled post-Bongo elections for August 2025, promising they will be free, fair and transparent, but Oligui Ngema has not made it clear whether or not he will stand.
In Chad, junta leader Mahamat Idriss Itno won the elections that the AU said were invalid because he stood when he shouldn’t have.
Chad has never been suspended from the AU, even though Itno came to power in a coup of sorts: he took power after his father died in battle, days after winning a new term in office. But Itno discarded all the constitutional steps that were to be followed to plan a succession.
Gabon remains suspended from the AU, but Libreville has strengthened relations with Paris and Washington. Nguema has visited both capitals over the past year, receiving red-carpet treatment.
In May, the junta leader was in France seeking funds to finance the national transition development plan and steer his political ambitions. During his stay in Paris, General Nguema chaired the first edition of the Gabon-France economic forum before holding a tête-à-tête with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée, the official residence.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Gabon's President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema at the castle of Villers-Cotterets, France, for the 19th Francophonie Ssummit of French-speaking nations on October 4, 2024. Reuters
Photo credit: Reuters
One of the high points of Nguema’s trip to Washington last week was a stop at the US Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business lobby, where he participated in a business roundtable and the formal signing of six memorandums of understanding between US companies and the Gabonese government that will increase bilateral investment and trade.
