President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Calls for Stronger Regional Integration and Greater Commitment to ECCAS

The President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has delivered his traditional message on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the creation of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Central African Regional Integration Day, addressing several issues concerning the organization’s current situation and future.

In his message, delivered on October 18, 2026, in Ciudad de la Paz, the Head of State, in his capacity as Chairman-in-Office of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECCAS, reviewed the Community’s progress since its establishment in 1983, the challenges facing the region, and the priorities set out in Vision 2050 and the 2026–2030 Medium-Term Strategic Plan.

The full message of the President of the Republic is reproduced below:

«Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government of Central Africa;

Distinguished citizens of the Community of Central African States;

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great honor for me to take the floor and address you in my capacity as the current Chairman of ECCAS, and I would like to start my speech by expressing my hope that peace will prevail throughout our beloved Region.

Today, we celebrate the 43rd Anniversary of the founding of our Economic Community of Central African States, Central African Regional Integration Day, a date established by Article 7 of the revised 2019 Treaty.

Following that decision, we all reaffirmed our commitment to uniting the economies of our Region as one People and one Community of shared development, in order to advance the progress of our respective States.

Forty-three years after the creation of ECCAS, our commitment today is to assess the progress we have made since 1983, in order to outline the goals that the future holds for our Community.

However, we observe that despite the current context, we are entangled in the turmoil of war, as well as political, economic, and internal security challenges in our Region. Our Community is striving to survive these challenges; even after the period of inactivity between 1992 and 1998, thanks to our determination, we have relaunched a historic institutional reform that took effect in 2020.

Today, ECCAS has a modernized structure that is more agile, more effective, and firmly oriented toward more dynamic performance, with an action plan for the next 25 years, which is the 2050 ECCAS Vision, whose objective is to build a regional space of peace, shared prosperity, solidarity, and free movement so that every citizen of the Central African Region can fully pursue their activities without any difficulty.

Your Excellencies, distinguished people of the Central African Region:

Our efforts are focused on putting this vision into practice with rigorous pragmatism. We assume the 2026–2030 Medium-Term Strategic Plan as our indispensable roadmap, focusing our institutional work on five fundamental pillars:

The consolidation of peace, security, and political stability in our Region, as well as its sustainable development, cannot be achieved without the preservation of peace.

The acceleration of economic and trade integration by revitalizing the free trade area and strengthening intra-community trade, with the goal of establishing a common African market.

The protection of the environment and the preservation of the Congo Basin, a World Heritage Site and the planet's second “lung,” in order to safeguard our biodiversity.

The development of the infrastructure of the energy supply network and the improvement of the interconnection of our transportation networks.

The development of human capital and the promotion of social inclusion, placing youth and women at the center of our social development policies.

With these goals in mind, we aim for ECCAS to become a regional community where borders are not barriers, but rather bridges of communication. A space where goods, ideas, and talent flow freely from Ciudad de la Paz to Luanda; to Kinshasa and N'Djamena; to Bujumbura and Yaoundé; to São Tomé and Bangui; to Libreville and Brazzaville; to Kigali; and so on.

Your Excellencies, distinguished people of the Central African Region:

We must live this Central African Regional Integration Day not merely as a celebration, but as an urgent call to action, to cohesion, and to the transformation of our Community.

We must not allow the continuity and very existence of our Community to be threatened by a lack of funding from its Member States.

Regional integration comes at a cost. We must all work together to honor the financial commitments that will enable ECCAS to achieve the objectives mentioned above and fulfill the missions entrusted to it.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Forty-three years after Libreville, we should recognize that integration is not an option, but a vital necessity. From now on, ECCAS must be a community of people and a community of results.

On this anniversary, I ask that we unite our efforts, set aside our temporary differences, and ensure that Vision 2050 is not a distant goal, but rather a path we can follow immediately.

Let us march together with determination toward the concrete goals of our great shared project for a stronger and more united ECCAS.

Happy Regional Integration Day!

Long live the Economic Community of Central African States!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!»