Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba hosted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Libreville, along with several Central African heads of state, at the start of a four-day tour of the region.
President Bongo Ondimba said at the One Forest Summit co-organised by France and Gabon that there is no better investment today than investing in our forests’.
His comments came before several heads of state were due to attend the One Forest Summit in Libreville, which will focus on preserving rainforests that play a vital role in the global climate system.
After the Amazon, the forests of the vast Congo River basin are the planet’s second-largest carbon sink.
They also support a diverse range of wildlife, including forest elephants and gorillas, and bear evidence of early human settlement.
They are, however, threatened by poaching, deforestation for the oil, palm, and rubber industries, as well as illegal logging and mineral exploitation.
Other presidents expected to attend the summit are host Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon; Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville; Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic; Chad’s Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno; and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.
The gathering kicked off on Wednesday with exchanges between ministers, civil society representatives and experts.
Macron will travel to Angola to sign an agreement to develop the agricultural sector as part of a push to strengthen French ties with Anglophone and Portuguese-speaking Africa.
He will then visit the Republic of Congo, where he will meet with President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
