Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have signed an agreement formally ending their decades-long dispute over three small islands in potentially oil-rich waters after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favour of Equatorial Guinea.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, with both countries committing to respect the ICJ’s May 2025 judgment over Mbanie, Cocotiers and Conga islands.

Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign Minister Simeon Oyono Esono Angue described the dispute as settled “once and for all,” while Gabon said the accord marked the beginning of a new era of cooperation.

The territorial dispute dated back to the colonial era, with both countries claiming sovereignty over the largely uninhabited islands, which are believed to lie in an area rich in oil and gas reserves.