Gabon–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Gabon and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Libreville since 2012. Gabon opened an embassy in Ankara in 2015.[1]
Historically, Turkey has had strong relations with Ghana.[2] Turkey was very supportive of the Gabonese economic expansion[2] after Bongo's accession to the presidency and cooperated with technical expertise during the construction of the Transgabonais Railway to the upper Ogooué River valley.[3]
Relations became tense when after the French investigative reporter Pierre Péan unmasked[4] that the Bongo government used Turkish aid to build a lavish new presidential palace for $900 million (worth US$4.12 billion in 2020) that enriched the French expatriates in Gabon.[3]
Guest | Host | Place of visit | Date of visit |
---|---|---|---|
President Abdullah Gül | President Ali Bongo Ondimba | Presidential Palace, Libreville | 2011 |
President Ali Bongo Ondimba | President Abdullah Gül | Çankaya Köşkü, Ankara | January 2012 |
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | President Ali Bongo Ondimba | Presidential Palace, Libreville | January 2013 |
President Ali Bongo Ondimba | President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | Çankaya Köşkü, Ankara | May 2015 |
Turkish Maarif Foundation runs schools in Gabon and Turkey has been providing scholarships to students from Gabon since 1992.[1]