Malabo, 01 June 2022 (TDI): According to the State House of The Gambia on Tuesday, The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea have established diplomatic ties and economic relations. The signing procedure started on Sunday, May 29th at the Presidential Palace in Malabo. To build official relations, The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea have signed four bilateral agreements.
The Establishment of The Gambia-Equatorial Guinea Relation
The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea signed four agreements which are the Joint Communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations between The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea, the Cooperation Framework Agreement between The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea, the MOU on Diplomatic Consultations between the Foreign Ministries, and the Agreement on Reciprocal Exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports. Additionally, the bilateral Cooperation Framework Agreement guided the embellishment of the Joint Commission for Economic, Commerce, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation.
Due to complex political factors, including the former Gambian leader’s exile in Equatorial Guinea, both sides did not have relations for a long time. Currently, the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo attended the African Union Summit that took place in Malabo from 25 to 28 May. President Nguema Mbasogo’s presence is a sign of improving relations between the two countries.
Afterward, closely following the meeting, President Adama Barrow of The Gambia and President Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea announced the establishment of bilateral diplomatic and economic ties.
Future Cooperation between The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea
From the perspective of the economy, Equatorial Guinea is the third-largest producer of oil in Sub-Saharan Africa. While The Gambia is ranked 14th among 47 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Moreover, the two countries’ economic development is complementary to some extent.
Joint efforts to develop natural resources will benefit both peoples in The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea has a lot of natural gas and the Gambia could benefit from their expertise. Meanwhile, Equatorial Guinea consumes a lot of peanuts without producing any. But the Gambia has abundant peanut production.
With the development of intra-African trade, African countries can save a lot of foreign exchange. To fulfill the benefits of such cooperation, the President of Equatorial Guinea said that he will send a ministerial delegation soon after returning to Banjul to start implementing the agreements.
Chensi is majored in diplomacy. Her main research interests include Sino-African relations, African foreign affairs, public diplomacy and sustainable development.
