Note to correspondents on the trilateral ministerial meeting on the dispute between the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the Gabonese Republic

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, His Excellency Mr. Agapito Mba Mokuy, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Francophonie and Regional Integration of the Gabonese Republic, His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet, met at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 20 April 2016. The meeting was convened by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the United Nations and Focal Point on the border dispute between the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the Gabonese Republic, Mr. Jeffrey Feltman.

The purpose of this meeting was to achieve a mutually acceptable solution on the longstanding border dispute between their two countries before the end of the mandate of the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. The meeting took place in an open, cordial and constructive climate. The two Ministers reaffirmed their shared determination to settle the dispute between their two countries and, in a climate of mutual trust and respect, to pursue the development of cooperation consistent with the fraternal ties between the peoples of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and with the common interests of both States.

The two parties agreed on the final text of the special agreement, which will be signed by His Excellency Mr. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and his Excellency Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic, at a date to be determined by both parties, and in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. His Excellency Mr. Agapito Mba Mokuy and His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet expressed their gratitude to Mr. Feltman for the support and good offices of the United Nations.