President of the Republic of Gabon Arrives in Cuba on Official Visit

The Head of State of the African nation was received at the Jose Marti International Airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra

The President of the Republic of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba arrived on Thursday in Havana on an official visit and will hold talks to his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro.

The Head of State of the African nation was received at the Jose Marti International Airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra and other Cuban diplomats and representatives of the Gabonese embassy in Havana.

As part of his agenda, the Gabonese President will hold talks with the President of the Cuban National Assembly Esteban Lazo and pay homage to the island’s National Hero Jose Marti and African leaders.

The Head of State will also head a business forum with the objective of reactivating cooperation in the health, agriculture, industry and construction sectors and will define joint strategies to improve the commercial ties between both nations.

Born in 1959, Bongo Ondimba is a law graduate from the University of Pantheon Sorbonne in Paris and obtained his PhD in the field.

He became President in anticipated elections on August 30th, 2009 and was reelected in 2016 with a 50.66 percent of the votes.

Cuba and Gabon reestablished diplomatic relations in 1974 and its bilateral ties mainly includes the health, education and sports sectors.

The Gabonese embassy was reopened in Havana in March of 2016 as an expression of both Presidents’ commitment in establishing the African nation’s diplomatic headquarters in Cuba.

Last May, the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs of French speaking States and Regional Integration of the Republic of Gabon, Pacome Moubelet Bouyeya traveled to Cuba and was received by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.

Gabon is located in the Atlantic Coast of Central Africa and is the fifth major oil producer in Africa and one of the first exporter of manganese in the world.