Gabon’s transitional president, General Brice Oligui Nguema, met his Congolese counterpart, President Denis Sassou Nguesso, on Sunday in an effort to improve relations between the two countries.
The meeting comes at a time when Gabon is suspended from the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) following a military coup that ousted former president Ali Bongo Ondimba in August.
Oligui, who was sworn in as interim president last month, has promised to hold “free, transparent and credible elections” to restore civilian rule. However, he has not given a timeframe for the polls.
Special advisor to the new Gabonese head of state, Obame Ngomo, said that the meeting with Sassou Nguesso should make it possible to promote “exchanges on bilateral collaboration” and “bring people back to better relations.”
Under the presidency of Ali Bongo, relations between Gabon and the Congo were notoriously tense. The two countries have a long history of border disputes and have clashed militarily on several occasions.
