Nguema Visits France to Recalibrate Bilateral Ties Post-Francafrique
From 20 to 22 July 2026, Gabon’s Oligui Nguema conducted a state visit to France. He led a delegation of high officials, including Minister of Defense Brigitte Onkanowa, Minister of Water and Energy Philippe Tonangoye. The CEO of Gabon Power Company CEO Philippe Ossoucah and other heads of public and private enterprises were in the delegation.
Upon his arrival, he had a tete-a-tete with France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the Elyee Palace. In the afternoon, Nguema and Macron witnessed the signing of several bilateral agreements or memoranda of understanding (MoU).
At the top of the agenda is an MoU for securing manganese between the Gabonese Government and Eramet. The MoU calls for a refinery with a capacity of 700,000 tonnes of manganese ore annually to be financed and built by 2031. The Government of Gabon has set the deadline to January 2029 to ban the export of raw ores, and France has requested an extension till 2031.
“The Manganese Refinery will generate greater added value within the country, support its industrialization and boost the competitiveness of the national economy.”
Gabon President Oligui Nguema
On a related note, France’s Agency for Development (AFD) committed to finance the overhaul of the Trans-Gabon Railway, in order to transport the minerals more efficiently. The two sides also finalized two agreements aimed at enhancing Gabon’s #WaterSecurity and stabilizing municipal electricity grids.
Minister Tonangoye and EDF EVP Beatrice Buffon signed a protocol to develope the 400-MW Booue Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Ogouue-Ivindo Province in central Gabon. The project will be a partnership between GPB and EDF, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) will provide some of the financing.
On the defense front, the two sides agreed to transition from a permanent presence to holding joint tactical exercises and military training. Thus, the future of the long-standing French military base at Camp de Gaulle in Libreville would probably become a training camp or military academy.
On Tuesday 21 July 2026, he met with French Senate Speaker Gerard Larcher. Later, Nguema met with the Mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, to explore cooperation in the cultural and urbanization realms.
On Wednesday 22 July 2026, Nguema and his delegation attended the Gabon-France Business Forum organized by Business France. Among the projects pitched, it is worth highlighting the Belinga Iron Ore Projects. French logistics company AGL expressed an interest in the transport infrastructure, involving port and rail. The smaller 82-MW Gnoulmendjim HPP was also presented by GPC.
From the flagship projects highlighted, it is clear that Gabon is favoring green and clean energy sources to support its development. In that same line of reasoning, Gabon invited TotalEnergies, which has exploiting oil in Gabon for many years, to support the #EnergyTransition of Gabon by building an energy-efficient petrochemical complex locally.
Later during the day, Nguema held a town hall meeting with the Gabonese living in France at Saint-Germain-en-Laye to urge the diaspora to contribute more to the development of Gabon.
Macron and Nguema saw eye-to-eye when it came to evolve the partnership from the old ‘Francafrique’ model to a new partnership on a ‘more equal-footing.’