Guinea-Bissau junta leader makes first foreign trip to Chad

Guinea-Bissau's junta leader, General Horta N'Tam, embarked on his first foreign trip since taking power, traveling to Chad to attend the nation's 66th independence anniversary. This visit, occurring over eight months into his leadership, marks a significant diplomatic move for a regime that has largely been isolated internationally following last year's coup.

N'Tam's trip is widely seen as an effort to gain legitimacy as Guinea-Bissau approaches a critical deadline for holding elections to restore civilian rule. The military seized control in late November, ousting President Umaro Sissoco Embalo just before provisional election results were to be announced. The junta subsequently appointed N'Tam, a close associate of Embalo, as the transitional leader.

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union have condemned the coup and suspended Guinea-Bissau's participation. Several countries, including immediate neighbors Senegal and Guinea, have also frozen relations. The country is scheduled to hold presidential and legislative elections on December 6, but a transitional charter prevents N'Tam from running for office. A Senegalese delegation recently visited to present a new mediation plan aimed at stabilizing the political transition.

Bilateral relations between Guinea-Bissau and Chad have seen a notable increase since Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited Guinea-Bissau in May 2025, signing several sectoral agreements. For Guinea-Bissau, a nation that has experienced five coups and numerous attempted takeovers since its independence in 1974, stability remains a persistent challenge.

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the guest of the president of the Republic of Chad to attend the military parades