Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu began the first ever visit by a high ranking Indian dignitary to Gabonese Republic with a series of high level meetings in the capital city of Libreville today.
When he arrived in the Gabonese capital, he was accorded ceremonial reception and was warmly received by Ms. Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, Prime Minister of Gabon and Michael Moussa-Adamo, Gabonese Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Naidu held a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Gabon . Michael Moussa Adamo and then met the President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba.
Thereafter, he had a joint meeting with Faustin Boukoubi, President of National Assembly and Ms. Lucie Milebou Aubusson, President of the Senate. On this occasion, Naidu emphasised the importance of shared values of democracy and pluralism in India-Gabon ties and gifted both presiding officers replicas of the original Indian Constitution.
Vice President also led delegation level talks with the Gabonese Prime Minister, Ms. Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda on a host of issues of common interest to both countries and sought to deepen the bilateral relations.
During his interactions with Gabonese leadership, the Vice President stressed that India attaches great importance to its relations with Gabon and reiterated the commitment of the Government of India to be Gabon’s reliable partner in its development journey.
Referring to the steady growth of bilateral trade between India and Gabon, which crossed US$ 1 billion in 2021-22 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Naidu called for exploring the possibilities of diversifying our trade basket, particularly in the sectors of health and pharmaceuticals, energy, agriculture, Rice, defence, security, etc. He also wanted increased partnership between both the countries in key sectors such as oil & gas, mining, wood processing, defence, solar energy, etc.
Congratulating Gabon for getting elected as a non-permanent member of UN Security Council for the term 2022-23, Naidu thanked its leadership for supporting India’s candidature for the permanent membership of UNSC. Emphasising the need for structural reforms in United Nations particularly in the UN Security Council, he called for closer cooperation between the two countries on issues such as counter terrorism and climate change.
In his talks, the Vice President also reiterated India’s support to the Common African Position, enshrined in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, and underscored the need to rectify the historical injustice done to the African continent.
He also emphasised the need to work closely together in ensuring that the founding values and principles of NAM are adhered to in both letter and spirit, and that NAM focusses on mainstream contemporary issues of relevance to the developing world.
