Malabo summit sets new course
Central Africa’s quest for stronger economic and political cohesion took a decisive step during the extraordinary summit of heads of state held in Malabo on 7 September 2025. Leaders unanimously entrusted Burundian diplomat Ezéchiel Nibigira with a single five-year mandate to chair the CEEAC Commission.
He replaces Angolan economist Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo, who steered the institution through a complex redesign of its treaty and a delicate merger with the sub-regional security mechanism. Nibigira’s arrival signals continuity but also the expectation of fresh momentum on long-standing integration targets.
Who is Ezéchiel Nibigira?
Before entering continental affairs, the 50-year-old served as Burundi’s foreign minister between 2018 and 2020, then as minister in charge of East African Community affairs, youth, sports and culture until 2023. Those portfolios honed his negotiating skills across security, trade and social inclusion.
Speaking just after his election, he thanked the assembled heads of state for what he called “a collective leap of faith” and promised to transform the commission into a more agile engine for stability, business growth and sustainable development across the eleven-member bloc.
Security remains an urgent file
Central Africa continues to experience pockets of fragility, from insurgent activity in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo to sporadic unrest in parts of Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Leaders asked Nibigira to prioritise joint early-warning systems and coordinated peace-support operations.
He inherits a security architecture already linked to the African Union but still searching for predictable funding. Observers believe that advancing the planned regional standby force could reassure investors and reinforce maritime patrols in the Gulf of Guinea, a key artery for Congo-Brazzaville’s oil exports.
Deepening intra-regional trade ties
Although the bloc represents more than 180 million people, intra-CEEAC commerce remains below ten percent of total trade. Non-tariff barriers, cumbersome customs procedures and limited transport corridors still divert Congolese timber, ores and agricultural surpluses toward ports rather than toward neighbouring consumer markets.
Nibigira pledged to operationalise the protocol on free movement of persons and goods adopted in 2021 but not yet ratified by all members. Faster implementation, he argued, could dovetail with the continent-wide African Continental Free Trade Area and unlock new logistics contracts for Pointe-Noire operators.
Mobilising development finance
Running the agenda demands resources. Member contributions cover barely half of the operating budget, leaving programmes dependent on variable partner grants. The new chair said he would intensify domestic revenue drives while courting concessional loans designed to accelerate cross-border energy grids and digital connectivity initiatives.
His allies within the Burundian treasury point to his success negotiating syndicated infrastructure funding from the African Development Bank while in cabinet. Replicating that pragmatism region-wide could produce tangible deliverables, including the long-discussed Brazzaville–Kinshasa bridge and renewable power interconnections vital for Central Africa’s industrialisation.
Implications for Congo-Brazzaville
The Republic of Congo counts on the community to stabilise regional demand for its crude and diversify export routes for emerging gas and agribusiness projects. Authorities in Brazzaville therefore welcomed the election, underlining what they called Nibigira’s “balanced vision” toward land-locked as well as coastal states.
Officials interviewed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hinted that Congo will push for accelerated harmonisation of product standards, a move expected to open Cameroonian and Gabonese shelves to processed food from the Pool department. They also see room for joint patrols on the Sangha and Oubangui rivers.
For citizens, the symbolism matters. “We need visas to visit cousins thirty kilometres away in Kinshasa,” complained university student Brice Mboumba in downtown Brazzaville. “If the new commission can change that, it will be a real victory for ordinary Central Africans.” The remark echoes region-wide expectations.
Maintaining institutional coherence
Another priority will be clarifying how the CEEAC interacts with overlapping bodies such as CEMAC, the monetary union that includes Congo-Brazzaville. Streamlining mandates could cut red tape for businesses that currently navigate two secretariats when investing in telecom towers or cross-border agritech start-ups.
Nibigira indicated he would convene a joint retreat of technical departments within his first hundred days to map responsibilities and propose a shared digital workspace. Diplomats familiar with the file believe such practical steps can prevent mission duplication and let the commission concentrate on flagship regional projects.
A cautious but hopeful road ahead
The new chair’s success will ultimately hinge on collective political will. Yet the unity displayed in Malabo, coupled with Nibigira’s declared readiness to “listen, consult and execute”, offers a cautious optimism that Central Africa may, at last, translate decades of declarations into measurable, citizen-centred results.
Youth groups, representing nearly two-thirds of the region’s population, have urged the commission to embrace digital entrepreneurship and green jobs. In a social media statement, Pan-African tech hub WenakLabs argued that harmonised data regulations could attract cloud investors to N’Djamena, Douala and Brazzaville alike.