Gabon and EU forge a new strategic partnership for mutual investment
On Monday, 8 June 2026, the 2026 session of the strategic partnership dialogue between Gabon and the European Union opened at the Omar Bongo Ondimba Conference Centre in Libreville. The event was inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister Hermann Immongault, representing the Head of State, alongside EU Ambassador to Gabon Cécile Abadie. This session marks a fresh milestone in bilateral relations, two years after the 2024 talks and against the backdrop of Gabon’s Fifth Republic, established following the April 2025 presidential election. Libreville aims to strengthen its institutional stability and advance a cooperation model built on sustainable co-investment. Discussions brought together EU ambassadors and Gabonese government members, covering political reforms, economic outlook, governance, environmental issues, and regional and multilateral cooperation.
“We have definitively ended the Transition phase and, since the presidential election of 12 April 2025, launched a new institutional dynamic marked by the building of the Fifth Republic,” Hermann Immongault stated in his address. He emphasised that “Gabon intends to move progressively from a logic based largely on aid and support to one of a structuring economic partnership founded on investment, local value creation, skills transfer, and human capital development.” To that end, the Samoa Agreement now serves as the new reference framework for this renewed cooperation.
Investment and ecological transition
The Deputy Prime Minister also reminded attendees that protecting Gabon’s natural heritage is a global concern. According to him, “preserving this wealth is not just a national policy. It is a global issue that calls for fairer recognition of the efforts made by countries that ensure its effective protection.” He advocated for “strengthening international mechanisms for financing the ecological transition” to balance economic growth, industrialisation, and environmental preservation. Gabon also reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism, stability in Central Africa, and securing the Gulf of Guinea.
For her part, EU Ambassador to Gabon Cécile Abadie praised the quality of the dialogue between the two sides. She noted the need “to adapt the cooperation tools between Gabon and the European Union,” focusing on “a renewed partnership” that addresses shared new priorities. Describing herself as “keen on open exchanges,” the European diplomat reiterated the EU’s willingness to support Gabon in fostering a more balanced cooperation, oriented towards investments, reforms, and concrete results benefiting both partners.
