President Kagame Attends the Inauguration of Gabon’s Oligui Nguema

By The Inspirer.

President Kagame is among the heads of state who attended the inauguration ceremony of his Gabonese counterpart, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who recently won the presidential election with 94.85% of the vote.

The ceremony took place in Libreville at the Stade de l’Amitié and was attended by various African leaders, including Rwanda’s Paul Kagame; Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau; Mamadi Doumbouya of Guinea; Adama Barrow of The Gambia; Ismaïl Omar Guelleh of Djibouti; Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal; Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, among others.

President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi were also in attendance.

Brice Oligui Nguema won the election held on April 12 after serving 19 months as transitional president, having come to power by overthrowing Ali Bongo.

More than 40,000 citizens attended the inauguration ceremony.

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema last visited Rwanda on August 10, 2024, to attend President Paul Kagame’s inauguration. Previously, in October 2023, he had also visited Rwanda and met with President Kagame. Their discussions at that time focused on Gabon’s transitional process, security on the African continent and within the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and exploring avenues for bilateral cooperation between Rwanda and Gabon in various sectors.

Gabon is rich in petroleum, timber trade, and mineral resources.
Rwanda and Gabon maintain bilateral relations and trade, including through air transport, with RwandAir operating flights to Libreville, the capital of Gabon.
The two countries signed a cooperation agreement in 1976, which was later revised in 2010.