Photo By Edwin Wriston | Dr. Christopher Martin, West Virginia University Global Health Program, West Virginia...... read more read more
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A leadership delegation from the West Virginia National Guard and the State of West Virginia spent the day meeting with officials at the United States Embassy in the capitol city of Libreville, Gabon, on November 18, 2024, as part of a five-day trip to the Gabonese Republic marking the official launch of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program relationship between West Virginia and the African nation.
The events at the embassy were hosted by Vernell Trim FitzPatrick, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Gabonese Republic and her staff. The meetings provided participants with deep-dive knowledge on the history, culture, current political and military affairs, national and regional security environment, economy, health capabilities, educational organization, and technology of Gabonese society.
“We were incredibly pleased to host the delegation from West Virginia and to help facilitate this Inaugural meeting with Gabonese counterparts,” stated Ambassador FitzPatrick. “We are excited for this new partnership and are happy to work with our friends from West Virginia to assist in building a strong and lasting relationship between West Virginia and the nation of Gabon.”
The SPP is a key U.S. security cooperation tool and whole-of-government program, facilitating cooperation across all aspects of international civil-military affairs and encouraging people-to-people ties at the state level. The West Virginia - Gabon partnership will focus on key leader engagements, noncommissioned officer professional development, basic Soldier skills instruction, aviation maintenance training, disaster preparedness and response, and military civil engineering along with public health, education exchange, and economic development opportunities.
In addition to the National Guard Bureau and the United States Africa Command, the United States State Department has been instrumental in providing coordination and field expertise since West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced the official partnership between West Virginia and Gabon on March 06, 2024.
“Ambassador FitzPatrick and her staff provided us with excellent dialogue, insights, and first-hand knowledge of our newest SPP partner,” said Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard. “We cannot thank the Ambassador and her staff enough for their professionalism while helping us plan for this inaugural visit and key leader engagements and cannot adequately express our appreciation for their wonderful hospitality today.”
The inaugural key leader engagement will continue the rest of the week with the West Virginia delegation taking part in counterpart meetings, an official ceremony with Gabonese government and military leadership, and cultural events scheduled to provide participants with their own first-hand experiences of Gabon.
Gabon is now the third State Partnership Program partner nation for West Virginia, joining existing partners Peru and Qatar, and joins 18 other African nations as part of the SPP program.
| Date Taken: | 11.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2024 14:29 |
| Story ID: | 485574 |
| Location: | LIBREVILLE, GA |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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