Gabon's President stresses importance of education at WYF

CAIRO – 6 November 2017: Gabon’s President Bongo Ondimba stressed the importance of education and key policies to develop it, including utilizing modern technology.

During his speech at the "Harnessing Demographic Dividends through Investments in Youth" session at the World Youth Forum, Ondimba called on governments to cooperate and coordinate with the private sector so that the education youth receive meets the offered vacancies.

Ondimba further explained that Africa has plenty of fortunes and raw materials, and this necessitates work to help Africa shift to an industrial society. "We want our continent to enjoy sustainable peace and industrial transformation," said Gabon's president at WYF.

"Education is of special importance to the African continent; all governments stress its significance. We adopted key polices meant to develop education," President Ondimba said.

Stressing the importance of education, Ondimba also asserted that education should be mandatory for students less than 16 years old, without discriminating between females and males.

Gabon's President attended the session alongside President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, as well as Senegalese Prime Minister Mahammed Dionne, Equatorial Guinea Prime Minister Francisco Pascual Obama and other African leaders.