DDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (XOL Africa) — The African Union on Wednesday welcomed the signing of an agreement between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon establishing a framework for implementing a 2025 judgment by the International Court of Justice in a long-running territorial dispute between the two Central African neighbors.
The Joint Engagement Agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 49th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council in Addis Ababa by Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simeon Oyono Esono Angue and Dieudonné Aba’a Owono, president of Gabon’s Constitutional Court.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, and Edouard Bizimana, Burundi’s foreign affairs minister and chairperson of the AU Executive Council.
The agreement follows a high-level meeting facilitated by the African Union Commission, during which Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and Gabon President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema reaffirmed their commitment to peacefully implementing the ICJ judgment with AU support.
The ICJ issued its judgment on May 19, 2025, in the territorial dispute between the two countries. The new agreement provides a framework for implementation in accordance with international law and the principles of good faith and good neighborliness.
The AU Commission chairperson appointed Burundi’s Ambassador Albert Shingiro as his special envoy to facilitate continued engagement between the two parties. The African Union said sustained consultations and dialogue helped the two countries reach the agreement.
“The Agreement reflects a shared commitment to dialogue, cooperation, good neighbourliness and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the spirit of African unity,” Youssouf said at the signing ceremony.
Speaking for Gabon, Owono described the agreement as both a legal instrument and a political commitment to peace in Central Africa.
“Beyond the legal significance of this Agreement, we view it as an act of mutual trust and a strong political commitment towards the preservation of peace in Central Africa,” Owono said.
He said the agreement demonstrated the importance of dialogue at a time when the continent faces multiple security challenges.
“This approach demonstrates that dialogue and cooperation remain the most effective instruments for preventing tensions,” he said.
Equatorial Guinea’s foreign affairs minister said the agreement placed a historic responsibility on both countries to demonstrate that international judicial decisions can be implemented peacefully.
“We bear the historic responsibility of demonstrating that neighbouring States can implement an international judicial decision with composure, responsibility and good faith, while maintaining full respect for both international and African institutions,” Angue said.
“Africa is watching us. The world is watching us. Our peoples are watching us,” he added.
Bizimana said the agreement represented more than a legal arrangement, describing it as evidence of the political maturity of the two countries.
“The Agreement signed today is much more than a legal instrument. It is a testament to the political maturity of two African Nations that have chosen dialogue over confrontation, cooperation over division, and respect for the rule of law over the use of force,” Bizimana said.
The African Union congratulated Equatorial Guinea and Gabon on the agreement and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting member states in resolving disputes peacefully, strengthening regional stability and advancing the goals of the AU’s Agenda 2063, the bloc’s long-term development framework.
The agreement marks a significant step in efforts to resolve the territorial dispute between the neighboring countries and underscores the AU’s broader push for peaceful dispute settlement and respect for international law on the continent.
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