The US and the military junta of Gabon agree to deepen their cooperation in the face of the transition process

MADRID 4 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Government of the United States and the transitional authorities of Gabon agreed this Thursday to deepen their cooperation towards the completion of the democratic transition process opened on August 30, 2023, when the military junta headed by Brice Oligui Nguema, current president transition, carried out a coup d’état to overthrow the then president, Ali Bongo.

“Gabon’s commitment to a democratic transition offers an opportunity to expand and strengthen this partnership in the economic, environmental and security sectors. The United States recognizes that Gabon has taken important steps toward an inclusive democratic transition,” reads a statement from the Department of State.

Washington has also announced to support these efforts through an initiative to assist the constitutional referendum and the holding of “free, fair and transparent” elections.

The two countries will also strengthen their economic, trade and investment ties to “support the development of the Gabonese economy”, in addition to strengthening maritime security in the Atlantic Ocean and the capacity of the country’s defense forces.

To this end, the United States will provide logistical support and technical assistance in port security and installation of radars within the territorial waters of Gabon. “In collaboration with Congress, the United States intends to provide maritime patrol vessels and related maintenance and operational training to support civilian efforts to combat threats to Gabon’s natural resources,” the document reads.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nguema met to talk about the democratic transition process, after which they agreed to take measures to strengthen their bilateral relations.

The African country is currently led by transitional authorities established by the military junta established after the coup, motivated after denouncing some “false” results of the elections held days before, in which the then president obtained 64.27 percent of the votes, compared to the 30.77 percent of his main rival, Albert Ondo Ossa, who denounced fraud in the elections.

All of Bongo’s electoral victories, who rose to power after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, in 2009, have been marked by allegations of fraud. The former president suffered a stroke in 2018 that took him away from the public sphere for almost a year, although he declined to step aside. Just a few months later, in January 2019, a group of soldiers staged an riot that was dismantled by the authorities.