Gabon’s president, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, is accelerating the country’s economic integration into the African market. During a cabinet meeting on 25 June, he instructed the government to prioritise imports from other African nations, especially in the food sector, turning his pan-African vision into concrete public policy.
Intra-African trade is now a formal pillar of Gabon’s economic strategy. At the 25 June cabinet meeting, President Oligui Nguema directed the government to take immediate action to boost commercial exchanges with African countries, focusing on food products.
This move marks a fresh phase in the economic policy championed by the head of state, who has made regional integration and South-South cooperation central to his agenda since taking office.
A presidential directive to ministries
According to the official cabinet communiqué, the president stressed the need to favour imports from African nations to strengthen continental economies. “Favouring imports from African countries, particularly in food products, means actively contributing to the integration of the continent’s economies and to shared prosperity among brother states,” Oligui Nguema stated.
Beyond this principle, the president demanded swift implementation. The cabinet communiqué described it as “a firm directive” that requires “an immediate and resolute translation into concrete and measurable actions.”
A vision aligned with the AfCFTA
This new push aligns with Gabon’s commitments to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to stimulate trade between African economies and strengthen regional value chains.
In recent weeks, Gabonese authorities have launched multiple initiatives to better integrate the country into the continental market, including reviving talks with the AfCFTA secretariat and promoting local processing of natural resources. For the president, economic sovereignty also means stronger African partnerships and gradually reducing dependence on external markets.
Results now expected
By targeting food products as a priority, the president is calling on relevant ministries to adjust trade policies and procurement mechanisms to increase the share of exchanges with African countries. This could translate into stronger regional trade agreements, easier African imports, and deeper integration of Gabonese businesses into continental value chains.
By elevating intra-African trade to a government priority, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema aims to move from words to results. This ambition fits his vision of a Gabon more deeply integrated into its African environment, where economic cooperation drives growth, sovereignty, and shared prosperity.
