Gabon

Gabonese junta leader and transitional president Brice Oligui Nguema has recently concluded a dense diplomatic tour, working both to justify the August 2023 coup of his Government and to dispel fears that he intends to retain power indefinitely

Opposition and civil society groups are mobilising in support of the Gabonese leader after a bloc of central African states refused to lift sanctions imposed on Gabon after the military ousted President Ali Ben Bongo in late August

The country obtained a World Bank loan of $68,5 million to facilitate access to legal identity and digital services, with implementation of the project called 'Digital Gabon'

Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon has opened its Batanga Liquefied Petroleum Gas plant, the second phase of a $50 million major gas development project in the country

Gabon's military leader, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, visited Cameroon, calling on Central African states to lift economic sanctions on his country before the 2025 elections

The ruling junta has paid the first instalment of the conservation fund that is a key part of a pioneering 'debt-for-nature' agreement to protect the coastal waters with the world's largest leatherback turtle population

Presidential elections will be held in August 2025 to restore the constitutional order interrupted on 30 August 2023 in the wake of the controversial vote that led to the coup against Ali Bongo; the timetable was adopted in the council of ministers

Gabon, along with three other African countries Uganda, Niger and Central African Republic, will be excluded from US AGOA trade scheme as of 1 January 2024 due to their inability to "address US concerns about non-compliance with AGOA eligibility criteria"

The US declared the official suspension of foreign assistance to the Gabonese military junta for the 30 August coup, and added that aid would resume if the transitional government took concrete steps to restore democracy

Gabon's former first lady, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, has been transferred to Libreville Central Prison, being charged with embezzlement of public funds and money laundering

General Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon's leader, has appointed members of the new national assembly and senate for a transitional period, ahead of promised elections at an unknown date