GENERAL ACCORD OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES AND THE GABONESE REPUBLIC
on one part
THE GABONES REPUBLIC
on the other part
Referred to hereafter as the High Contracting Parties
BELIEVING in the need for cooperation among all peace-loving nations, without regard to race, religion or political and social systems, in order to enhance world peace, stability and harmony;
MOTIVATED by the will to strengthen the bond of friendship and fraternity that unite the people of the Third World in general and those of the Group of 77 in particular;
DESIROUS of developing relations between their respective countries based on equality, justice, mutual advantage, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, respect for one another’s sovereignty and national independence in consonance with the spirit and principles of the Charter of the United Nations;
CONSCIOUS of the necessity to begin a fruitful era of cooperation in various fields with a view to developing closer ties between their two countries.
HAVE AGREED on the following Provisions:
Article 1 – The High Contracting Parties shall, within their respective capabilities and in the spirit of fraternal solidarity, promote and intensify economic, social, cultural, scientific, technical and technological cooperation, with a view to contributing to the development of the two countries.
Article 2 – Within the framework of the present Accord, the High Contracting Parties shall endeavour to conclude Agreements or specific arrangements in the area defined in Article 1.
Article 3 – Accordingly, cooperation between the High Contracting Parties shall, in particular, cover the following:
(a) Establishment of appropriate economic agreements, particularly in the field of trade, on the basis of reciprocal benefits;
(b) Collaboration in pre-investment studies to identify areas where cooperation would prove beneficial to the High Contracting Parties;
(c) Cooperation in the field of energy and in scientific, technical and technological projects which would redound to the common benefit of the High Contracting Parties;
(d) Intensification of cultural exchanges leading to greater understanding between the peoples of the High Contracting Parties.
Article 4 – A Joint Commission, composed of Gabonese and Philippine officials, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gabonese Republic and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, respectively shall supervise the implementation of the present Accord.
The Joint Commission shall include meetings of other ministers to study particular matters relevant to the cooperation between the High Contracting Parties.
The Joint Commission shall meet once a year, alternately in Gabon and in the Philippines. However, extraordinary sessions may be convened upon the request of one of the High Contracting Parties.
Article 5 – The General Accord of Cooperation shall enter into force provisionally upon its signature and definitively after the exchange of ratification It shall remain in force indefinitely unless one of the High Contracting Parties signifies to the other, on six months prior notice in writing, its intention to terminate the General Accord.
A High Contracting Party may request total or partial revision of the General Accord of Cooperation under the same conditions provided for in the preceding paragraph. The sections revised or amended by mutual consent shall enter into force upon approval by the High Contracting Parties.
IN FAITH THEREOF the High Contracting Parties have signed this General Accord of Cooperation and have hereunto affixed their seals.
DONE in Manila, this 11th day of July in the year of One Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy Six in three original copies in Pilipino, in French and in English.
FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President
EL HADJ OMAR BONGO
President
Entry into Force: March 30, 1981