HEAD OF THE CONGOLESE DIPLOMACY: JEAN-CLAUDE GAKOSSO

Born on July 1st, 1946, Mr. Basile Ikouebe is an experienced and brilliant Congolese diplomat, who has been active in the foreign policy arena for many years.

Prior to his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr. Basile Ikouebe worked as a Foreign Service Officer in the Republic of Congo. While working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he became the Head of its International Organization Department in 1974. He was then appointed Principal Private Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1975 to 1977 and Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1979. He subsequently became Diplomatic Advisor to President Denis Sassou Nguesso between1982-1992. From 1987, he served concurrently as Principal Private Secretary to the Head of State. Starting in 1994 to 1995, he was Ambassador-at-large and reappointed to the position of Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 1998.

Basile Ikouebe was appointed Permanent Representative of the Republic of Congo to the United Nations on December 11th, 1998. As Permanent Representative, he served on the UN Security Council for the 2006-2007 term. Among other crucial issues, Mr. Ikouebe, voted resolutions aimed to end violence in Darfur, Sudan, and the political crisis in Côte d’Ivoire during his tenure as Congo’s Permanent Representative to the UN. On May 31st, 2007 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and served as President Sassou Nguesso’s spokesman for diplomatic affairs during his re-election campaign in 2009. As Congo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ikouebe has described “the Good Neighbor Policy,” and “Development Diplomacy” as pillars of Congo’s foreign policy. He has also signed various treaties on environmental protection and global climate change notably on the conservation of the Congo Basin, its tropical forests and its biodiversity, while pushing Congo’s foreign policy agenda towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s).

Minister Ikouebe is an alumnus of the Institute for Political Studies in Bordeaux and the International Institute of Public Administration in Paris.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

BP 2070, Boulevard du Général Raoul ( face palais de congrès)
Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
Tel: +242 22 281 41 60
+242 22 282 38 43
+242 22 282 38 05
+242 22 282 38 04
+242 22 282 38 36
Fax: +242 22 282 38 16
Email: sg_maef@hotmail.fr

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Congo’s International Organization Participation: