Gabonese Brice Clothaire Oligui Nguema has concluded his recent first State visit to France as President-elect, by the signing of agreements aimed at strengthening infrastructure development and boosting local processing of the country’s mineral resources.
The key outcome of the visit was a €312 million financing agreement involving Proparco, the private sector arm of the French Development Agency, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Société d’Exploitation du Transgabonais to support the third phase of upgrades to the Transgabonese railway.
The railway, which contributes about 20 per cent of Gabon’s Gross Domestic Product, is expected to benefit from improved capacity and reliability, enhancing the transportation of minerals, freight and passengers while strengthening the country’s logistics chain.
During the visit, Gabon also signed a memorandum of understanding with mining company Eramet on the local transformation of manganese. The agreement sets a production target by the end of 2031, although some authorities had earlier hoped for completion by 2029.
The deal is intended to support Gabon’s ambition to process more of its mineral resources domestically, but critics have described the outcome of the visit as limited, arguing that more concrete commitments were needed.
The Government is also preparing a full audit of its debt as it seeks a new programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Gabon’s debt currently stands at more than 70 per cent of GDP, while authorities have announced plans for possible new borrowing of up to $1.5 billion.