February 9, 2025

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If there is no infrastructure, there are no doors to distribute your products

If there is no infrastructure, there are no doors to distribute your products

Barcelona was the setting for the second edition of the Africa Spain Business Summit to analyse the economic and commercial links between Africa and the European continent, with a special focus on Spain. 

Among the government representatives from African countries who attended the second edition of the Africa Spain Business Summit was the Minister of Industry of Gabon, François Mbongo Rafemo Bourdette, who had time in his busy schedule to give an interview to Atalayar to discuss industry and trade between Europe and Africa. 

Minister, you took part in a round table discussion on the processing industries and their important role in the trade relationship between Europe and Africa. How important is this industry for African countries and what possibilities for collaboration do they offer?

Thank you for your question. The opportunities are vast. We have a continent rich in resources. All industries are welcome. So we came to Spain, to Barcelona, to learn about all the technologies, bring them home and try to develop them in our countries.

In the case of Gabon, what are the main processing industries and what economic relationship do they have with European investors and entrepreneurs? 

In Gabon, most of the industries are related to oil and gas. We have partnerships with France and Turkey in particular. But Gabon is now trying to develop and diversify other sectors, such as agriculture and related industries. 

We also have sectors like timber that still need to be developed because we are in the first transformation. So we are going to have to go to the second, third, even the fourth. And we have many other industries that we need to prepare. But we are open and welcome all investors and interested parties. 

Minister, at the follow-up forum on financing Gabon’s industries that was held a few months ago in Libreville, you referred to some of the problems facing Gabon’s industries, such as transport, logistics, infrastructure, access to energy, fees, administrative processes and the cost of access to finance. How can European investors contribute to solving some of these problems, especially those related to transport, logistics and infrastructure? 

That’s a very good question; that’s what we tried to answer in the round table in which we participated. 

Infrastructure is the first thing that needs to be developed. If you don’t have roads, you don’t have gates to distribute all your products, there is no need. So the first task is to get the wheels turning, to create the infrastructure, the trains, the ports, the roads, and then from there you can develop a better economy. So we are asking investors to come and help us with the infrastructure so that we can have a better economy.

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