President Sirleaf Hails Indonesia and Gabon on 71st and 56th Independence Anniversaries
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent two separate messages of congratulations to the Governments and peoples of the Republic of Indonesia and the Gabonese Republic on the occasions marking the 71st and 56th Independence Anniversaries of the two countries, respectively, on Wednesday, August 17.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, in her message to her Indonesian counterpart, President Joko Widodo, the Liberian President conveyed warmest felicitations to the Government and people of Indonesia on this historic event and prayed that the cordial and bilateral relations subsisting between both countries will be further strengthened and cemented for the mutual benefit of the two nations and peoples.
She also prayed that as Liberia and Indonesia work together in furtherance of peace, security and cooperation, the Almighty Allah will endow President Widodo with abundant wisdom and strength as he leads his compatriots to greater prosperity.
August 17 is celebrated annually as Indonesia’s national day and marks its declaration of independence from the Netherlands in 1945. Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands and the fourth most populous country, had been a Dutch colony for over 300 years when a group of revolutionaries declared independence on August 17, 1945.
It took Indonesians four years of diplomacy and armed struggle before their independence was formally granted by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.
In a related development, in her message to President of the Gabonese Republic, His Excellency Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba, President Sirleaf, on behalf the Government and people of Liberia and in her own name, extended heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to the Gabonese leader, and through him, to the Government and people of Gabon as they celebrate another milestone in their national history.
She stressed that as the people of Gabon observe this milestone, her government recalls the cordial ties and cooperation between the two countries in regional and sub-regional bodies.
President Sirleaf said Liberia looks forward to expanding the excellent friendship for the prosperity of the two governments and peoples.
On August 17, 1960, Gabon, the last of four territories which formed French Equatorial Africa, gained official independence from France, after more than a century of domination.
