HE EVariste Ndayishimiye, the Burundian Head of State, met with his counterpart Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Republic of Gabon, on the sidelines of the 18th Summit of Heads of State of ECCAS member states.

President Ndayishimiye wholeheartedly thanked his host for the warm welcome he received as well as his entire delegation. He also thanked President Ali Bongo, the Gabonese people and the country’s former leaders for the historic relations existing between the two countries.

He recalled the role that former President Omar Bongo, his father, played during the inter-Burundian peace negotiations as well as the Global Ceasefire Agreement.

President Ndayishimiye thanked President Bongo for his touching speech delivered while in Bujumbura in 2015 as he visited the mausoleum of President Melchior Ndadaye, a speech which permitted to shade light and changed some people’s minds as far as the Burundian conflict was concerned.

Before the end of the meeting, the two leaders agreed to put in place a joint commission which will decide on the treaties to sign in the near future. The two parties will agree on the date and place of the first meeting next year. Finally, they are committed to exchanging manpower and agricultural products, among other things.