Gabon: US is developing an economic and security assistance package to try to prevent China from setting up a military base in the central African country

The United States is developing an economic and security assistance package for Gabon to try to prevent China from setting up a military base in the central African country with a maritime frontage on the Atlantic Ocean, Bloomberg reported on Friday, September 6, 2024, citing people familiar with the matter. The program is expected to include training for Gabonese special forces and $5 million in funding for the country’s democratic transition, a radar system dedicated to monitoring illegal fishing, an expansion of the partnership between Gabonese security forces and the West Virginia National Guard, and assistance with the conservation of national parks, the source said.

The “package”, which has not yet been finalized, should be announced during a visit to the United States by Gabonese transitional president, Brice Oligui Nguema, which will take place at the end of September or the beginning of October 2024. The expected rapprochement between Libreville and Washington comes at a time when several Western media and diplomatic sources have revealed in recent months that China is seeking to revive the project to install a Chinese naval base in Port-Gentil, which was the subject of an agreement between Beijing and the ousted president Ali Bongo in 2023.

The Middle Kingdom remains Gabon’s leading customer (33% of Gabonese exports) and its leading trading partner. During a bilateral economic meeting held on September 3 in Beijing, on the eve of the opening of the ninth edition of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Gabonese authorities announced the signing of several investment agreements totaling 4.3 billion dollars with Chinese companies.