Libreville, 7 January 2022 (TDI): Gabon, a former French colony, would join the British Commonwealth in 2022. Gabon applied to join the organization. The Commonwealth had sent a delegation to Libreville for an assessment to determine whether Gabon is eligible for its criteria.
President Ali Bongo Ondimba announced in a televised address that the country would become the 55th member of the Commonwealth in 2022. This would happen during the next commonwealth summit/heads of Government meeting scheduled for June in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
According to President Ali Bongo Ondimba, it is a major turning point for a nation of nearly 2.
5 million people. He believes that joining a multicultural group such as the commonwealth of nations is very “promising” for his country.
Gabon is a French-speaking country and former colony of France. It gained its independence from France on August 17th, 1960.
Gabon, though French-speaking, decided to join the organization to achieve economic diversification and to ensure that the Gabonese people are better armed.
Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, a former spokesman for the Gabonese presidency noted that when one who does not understand English leaves the French-speaking zone, he or she is almost handicapped.
This is because English is the language of business. Even though French is popular, yet, English is widely spoken. Joining the organization is indeed very promising for Gabon.
Commonwealth
The Commonwealth is a multicultural, voluntary association of 54 independent and equal countries. Member countries have shared goals like development, democracy, and peace. Both advanced economies and developing countries are members of the Commonwealth. The values and principles are expressed in the Commonwealth Charter.
Initially, members of the Commonwealth were those who were colonized by the British Empire. But today, any country can join the modern Commonwealth. However, the country must be ready to uphold the values, principles, and tenets of the Commonwealth as expressed in the charter.
Rwanda was the last country to join the Commonwealth in 2009.
To join the organization, countries are to follow a simple process. By joining the Commonwealth, Gabon would become the third non-English speaking country to join the organization, after Mozambique in 1995 and Rwanda in 2009.
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