Guinea-Bissau junta leader makes first foreign trip to Chad

Guinea-Bissau’s junta leader General Horta N’Tam travelled to Chad on Monday, his first foreign trip during more than eight months in power that have been mostly diplomatically isolated.

Observers say the visit, to attend the 66th anniversary of Chad’s independence, is likely meant to shore up legitimacy, as Bissau’s deadline to hold elections looms and with multiple countries having frozen relations following last year’s coup.

N’Tam’s flight left the country’s main Osvaldo Vieira International Airport at around 9:30 GMT, an AFP journalist saw, but no information was given about the leader’s programme.

The Chadian presidency said that N’Tam was “the guest of the president of the Republic of Chad to attend the military parades” for the independence anniversary celebrations.

The military took control of Portuguese-speaking Guinea-Bissau in late November, ousting president Umaro Sissoco Embalo a day before provisional results of national elections were to be announced, in which Embalo was seeking a second term.

The junta appointed N’Tam — a close Embalo associate — as transitional leader.

West African regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union condemned the coup and suspended Guinea-Bissau from participation.

In addition, several countries put their relations on ice, starting with direct neighbours Senegal and Guinea.

It will additionally hold a referendum on August 30 on whether to approve a constitutional change giving the president more powers.

However, the country is governed by a transitional charter, published in December, which bars N’Tam from running for election.

A Senegalese delegation designated as mediator by ECOWAS travelled to the country last Thursday to present a new mediation plan to the transitional authorities.

The effort aims to stabilise the political transition and restore constitutional order.

After Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited Guinea-Bissau in May 2025 — during which several sectoral agreements were signed — Bissau and N’Djamena experienced a significant boost in bilateral relations.

Among the world’s poorest countries, Guinea-Bissau has undergone five coups and a host of attempted takeovers since its independence from Portugal in 1974.

AFP