BRAZAVILLE, Republic of Congo
Gabon's new strongman, General Brice Oligui, was greeted by The Congo's Prime minister upon arrival on Sunday (Oct. 1) at Ollombo international airport.
He then met with the country’s
president Denis Sassou Nguesso.
Oligui said his visit was
aimed at improving the ties and easing Gabon's international isolation
following the coup.
"I have come to consult,
to discuss, to exchange with (the president), who for us is a key in the
region, who can relay to global authorities what we have done," Oligui
said after holding talks with Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso.
The talks were held near Oyo,
in central Congo.
"It is also to ease the
sanctions... we hope to once again take our place among the nations,"
Oligui said.
Gabon was suspended from the
African Union and the Economic Community of Central Africa States (ECCAS) after
the change of government.
ECCAS has also ordered the
immediate transfer of its headquarters from Gabon's Libreville to the
Equatorial Guinea capital Malabo.
The Congo president did not
address reporters after the talks, but his Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso
hailed Oligui as "a man of humility and reconciliation."
"I think that the
Gabonese should support him and aside from the Gabonese, the Congolese. Also,
our brothers in central Africa", he told reporters.
"We know that there was a
change in Libreville," Gakosso said. "The main thing is that there
was no bloodshed."
"We have rarely seen
this, a forceful change of regime without bloodshed."
"The Congo and Gabon are
in reality the same country. We have to work tirelessly, have good
relations," he said.
Gabon's transitional
president, who ousted the leader of the central African country at the end of
August, received a show of support from neighbouring Republic of Congo on
Sunday after he met his counterpart, aiming to improve relations and ease
Gabon's isolation.
General Brice Oligui Nguema
overthrew Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, who had ruled Gabon since 2009, moments after
he was proclaimed the winner in a presidential election in late August.
The election result was
branded a fraud by the opposition and the military coup leaders, who had also
accused his regime of widespread corruption and bad governance.
Under the presidency of Ali
Bongo, relations between Gabon and neighbouring Congo were notoriously tense.
The visit marked the second
overseas trip by Oligui, who was sworn in last month as Gabon's interim
president.
Many in Gabon saw Ali Bongo's
overthrow as an act of liberation rather than a military coup.
Oligui has promised to hold
"free, transparent and credible elections" to restore civilian rule,
but has not given a timeframe.
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