Libreville, Thursday April 20, 2023 (Gabon Info) – The Gabonese and Chinese presidents decided yesterday in Beijing to upgrade cooperation between their countries from “Comprehensive Cooperation Partnership” to “Comprehensive Cooperation Strategic Partnership”. This common will of the two Heads of State resulted in the signing of new memoranda in various fields. The press release from the Gabonese presidency.
“The face-to-face meeting between the two Heads of State was an opportunity for the two personalities to deepen, reaffirm and consolidate the ties of friendship, cooperation and fraternity that unite Gabon. and China.
The two Heads of State have thus decided to move their countries from the concept of “Global Cooperation Partnership” in 2016, to that of “Strategic Partnership for Global Cooperation” in order to demonstrate the privileged and exemplary ties that bind their two States.
In view of the implementation of this new vision, Presidents Ali Bongo Ondimba and XI Jinping have decided to include the actions that bind their countries in the existing cooperation frameworks, in particular,
– For China: the Belt and Road Initiative; the Global Development Initiative; the Global Security Initiative; the Initiative for World Civilization with a view to enabling a better dialogue between cultures.
– For Gabon: the PSGE and the PAT.
The two Presidents also made an overview of the key sectors concerning the Libreville-Beijing axis in order to identify new areas of cooperation or those to be strengthened in the future.
Thus, particular interest has been shown, among other subjects, in the issues of green development, the digital economy, air transport, health, hydrocarbons, mines and industrial parks.
The cordial and warm meeting between the two personalities ended with the signing of new Instruments enriching the legal framework of our bilateral cooperation, in particular MOUs in the fields of Agriculture, Communication, the Environment, Housing, Investment and Economic Cooperation, as well as Development Cooperation.
It is more specifically:
– the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, responsible for promoting rurality in the Gabonese Republic and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China on the strengthening agricultural cooperation;
– the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Water, Forests, the Sea, the Environment, in charge of the Climate Plan and the Land Use Plan of the Gabonese Republic and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China for the supply of materials within the framework of South-South cooperation to combat climate change;
– the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Gabonese Republic and the Chinese Agency for International Development Cooperation of the People’s Republic of China on strengthening development cooperation and promoting the implementation the global development initiative;
– the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Gabonese Republic and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China for the creation of the Working Group on Investment and Economic Cooperation;
– the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism of the Gabonese Republic and the Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China on strengthening cooperation in the field of housing and urban development;
– the Agreement between the Ministry of Water, Forests, the Sea, the Environment, in charge of the Climate Plan and the Land Use Plan of the Gabonese Republic and the National Administration of Forests and Grasslands of the People’s Republic of China for the twinning of Lopé National Park in Gabon and Wuyishan National Park in China.
– the Agreement between the Gabonese Press Agency and the Xinhua Press Agency.
Moreover, within the framework of the meetings that the Head of State had with the highest Chinese personalities, the President of the Republic spoke respectively with the Prime Minister of the Council of Affairs of State, Mr Li Qiang and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Mr. Zhao Leji.
Bilateral, international and common interest issues were at the center of discussions between the Head of State and his hosts.
The two countries have also decided to work to consolidate mutual strategic trust on the major issues on the international agenda.
After expressing his thanks to the Chinese authorities for the warm welcome he received during his stay with the delegation accompanying him, the President of the Republic welcomed the multisectoral cooperation that links the two countries of on the one hand, and the multifaceted support of the Government of China in the realization of several development projects in the parliamentary, military, infrastructure, health, agriculture, tourism, transport, technology information on the other hand.
In concluding his remarks for the occasion, the Head of State officially extended an invitation to his Chinese counterpart to make a State visit to Gabon on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries, the celebration of which will take place during the year 2024”.
FIN/INFOSGABON/SM/2023
Copyright Infos Gabon
