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US State Department's Background Notes


U.S. Department of State, January 2002

Background Notes GuineaBissau

PROFILE

Official Name
Republic of GuineaBissau

Geography
Area (including Bijagos Archipelago) 36,260 sq. km. (14,000 sq. mi.), about
the size of Indiana.
Cities CapitalBissau Other citiesBafata, Gabu, Canchungo.
Terrain Coastal plain savanna in the east.
Climate Tropical.

People
Nationality Noun and adjectiveGuinean(s).
Population (est. 2001) 1.3 million.
Annual growth rate (est. 2001) 2.23%.
Ethnic groups Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinka 13%, Papel 7%.
Religions Indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%.
Languages Portuguese (official), Creole, French, many indigenous languages,
including Mandinka and Fula.
Education Years compulsory4. Literacy34% of adults.
Health Infant mortality rate130/1,000. Life expectancy44 years.
Work force (480,000) Agriculture78% industry, services, and
commerce14% government8%.

Government
Type Republic, multiparty since 1991.
Independence September 24, 1973 (proclaimed unilaterally) September 10,
1974 (de jure from Portugal).
Constitution Adopted 1984 amended 1991, 1993 and 1996.
Branches Executivepresident (chief of state and head of government),
prime minister and council of state, ministers and secretaries of state.
LegislaturePeople's National Assembly (ANP), 102 members directly elected
in 1999. JudicialSupreme Court and lower courts.
Administrative Subdivisions Autonomous sector of Bissau and eight regions.
Political Parties The Party for Social Renovation (PRS) is the ruling
party. Other parties are the African Party for the Independence of
GuineaBissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) the GuineaBissau ResistanceBaFata
Movement (RGBFM) the Union for Change (UM) Front for the Liberation and
Independence of Guinea (FLING) Guinean Civic Forum or (FCG) International
League for Ecological Protection (LIPE) National Union for Democracy and
Progress (UNDP) Party for Democratic Convergence (PCD) and the United
Social Democratic Party (PUSD).
Suffrage Universal at 18.
Flag Vertical red band with black star on the staff side, yellow upper
horizontal band, green lower horizontal band.

Economy
GDP (2000 est.) $201 million real growth rate (2000 est.) 7.6%.
Per capita income (2000 est.) $173.
Natural resources Fish and timber. Bauxite and phosphate deposits are not
exploited possible offshore petroleum.
Agriculture (54% of GDP) Productscashews, rice, peanuts, cotton, palm
oil. Arable land43%.
Industry (15% of GDP) Typesagricultural processing, fish processing,
light construction, soft drinks.
Trade Exports$80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) cashews (70%), shrimp,
peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber. Major marketsIndia 59%, Singapore
12%, Italy 10% (1998). Imports$55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products. Major
suppliersPortugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998).

PEOPLE
The population of GuineaBissau is ethnically diverse with distinct
languages, customs, and social structures. Most people are farmers, with
traditional religious beliefs (animism) 45% are Muslim, principally Fula
and Mandinkaspeaker concentrated in the north and northeast. Other
important groups are the Balanta and Papel, living in the southern coastal
regions, and the Manjaco and Mancanha, occupying the central and northern
coastal areas.

HISTORY
The rivers of Guinea and the islands of Cape Verde were among the first
areas in Africa explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century. Portugal
claimed Portuguese Guinea in 1446, but few trading posts were established
before 1600. In 1630, a "captaincygeneral" of Portuguese Guinea was
established to administer the territory. With the cooperation of some local
tribes, the Portuguese entered the slave trade and exported large numbers of
Africans to the Western Hemisphere via the Cape Verde Islands. Cacheu became
one of the major slave centers, and a small fort still stands in the town.
The slave trade declined in the 19th century, and Bissau, originally founded
as a military and slavetrading center in 1765, grew to become the major
commercial center.

Portuguese conquest and consolidation of the interior did not begin until
the latter half of the 19th century. Portugal lost part of Guinea to French
West Africa, including the center of earlier Portuguese commercial interest,
the Casamance River region. A dispute with Great Britain over the island of
Bolama was settled in Portugal's favor with the involvement of U.S.
President Ulysses S. Grant.

Before World War I, Portuguese forces, with some assistance from the Muslim
population, subdued animist tribes and eventually established the
territory's borders. The interior of Portuguese Guinea was brought under
control after more than 30 years of fighting final subjugation of the
Bijagos Islands did not occur until 1936. The administrative capital was
moved from Bolama to Bissau in 1941, and in 1952, by constitutional
amendment, the colony of Portuguese Guinea became an overseas province of
Portugal.

In 1956, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde
(PAIGC) was organized clandestinely by Amilcar Cabral and Raphael Barbosa.
The PAIGC moved its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea, in 1960 and started an
armed rebellion against the Portuguese in 1961. Despite the presence of
Portuguese troops, which grew to more than
35,000, the PAIGC steadily expanded its influence until, by 1968, it
controlled most of the country. It established civilian rule in the
territory under its control and held elections for a National Assembly.
Portuguese forces and civilians increasingly were confined to their
garrisons and larger towns. The Portuguese Governor and Commander in Chief
from 1968 to 1973, Gen. Antonio de Spinola, returned to Portugal and led the
movement which brought democracy to Portugal and independence for its
colonies.

Amilcar Cabral was assassinated in Conakry in 1973, and party leadership
fell to Aristides Pereira, who later became the first president of the
Republic of Cape Verde. The PAIGC National Assembly met at Boe in the
southeastern region and declared the independence of GuineaBissau on
September 24, 1973. Following Portugal's April 1974 revolution, it granted
independence to GuineaBissau on September 10, 1974. The United States
recognized the new nation that day. Luis Cabral, Amilcar Cabral's
halfbrother, became President of GuineaBissau. In late 1980, the
government was overthrown in a relatively bloodless coup led by Prime
Minister and former armed forces commander Joao Bernardo Vieira.

>From November 1980 to May 1984, power was held by a provisional government
responsible to a Revolutionary Council headed by President Joao Bernardo
Vieira. In 1984, the council was dissolved, and the National Popular
Assembly (ANP) was reconstituted. The singleparty assembly approved a new
constitution, elected President Vieira to a new 5year term, and elected a
Council of State, which was the executive agent of the ANP. Under this
system, the president presides over the Council of State and serves as head
of state and government. The president also was head of the PAIGC and
commander in chief of the armed forces.

There were alleged coup plots against the Vieira government in 1983, 1985,
and 1993. In 1986, first Vice President Paulo Correia and five others were
executed for treason following a lengthy trial. In 1994, the country's
first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army
uprising against the Vieira government in June 1998 triggered a bloody civil
war that created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president
was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned
over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba Yala, founder of
the Social Renovation Party (PRS), took office following two rounds of
transparent presidential elections.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
In 1989, the ruling PAIGC under the direction of President Vieira began to
outline a political liberalization program which the ANP approved in 1991.
Reforms that paved the way for multiparty democracy included the repeal of
articles of the constitution, which had enshrined the leading role of the
PAIGC. Laws were ratified to allow the formation of other political parties,
a free press, and independent trade unions with the right to strike.

GuineaBissau's first multiparty elections for president and parliament
were held in 1994. Following the 199899 civil war, presidential and
legislative elections were again held, bringing opposition leader Kumba Yala
and his PRS party to power. The PRS currently holds 38 of 102 National
Assembly seats and 18 of 25 Cabinet seats.

>Government Officials
PresidentKumba Yala Kobde Nhanca
Prime MinisterAlamara Intchia Nhasse
Minister of Foreign Affairs/International Cooperation and
CommunitiesFilomena Mascarenhas Tipote
Minister of National DefenseDr. Brun Sitna Na'Mone
Minister of Internal AdministrationMarcelino Simoes Lopes Cabral
Minister of JusticeCarlos Pinto Perreira
Minister of Economy and FinanceCarlos Sousa
Minister of Commerce and IndustryFernando Correia Landim
Minister of Social InfrastructureBraima Djassi
Minister of Agriculture Forest, Hunting and Cattle BreedingLuis Olundo
Minister of Energy and Natural ResourcesCarlitos Barrai
Minister of Fisheries and Maritime AffairsDioniso Cabi
Minister of Education, Youth, Culture and SportGeraldo Martins
Minister of Public HealthAntonio Serifo Embalo
Minister of PublicAdministration and LaborRui Duarte de Barros
Minister of the Council of Ministers, Media and Parliamentary AffairsJose
de Pina
Ambassador to the UNLuzeria Dos Santos Jalo
Ambassador to the U.S.Vacant

The embassy of the Republic of GuineaBissau is located at 918 16th Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20006 (tel. 2028724222). The Mission of GuineaBissau
to the United Nations is located at 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 604, New
York, NY 10017 (tel. 2126113977).

ECONOMY
GuineaBissau is among the world's least developed nations and depends
mainly on agriculture and fishing. GuineaBissau exports some fish and
seafood, along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber.
License fees for fishing provide the government with some revenue. Rice is
the major crop and staple food. Because of high costs, the development of
petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a nearterm
prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves may possibly provide
muchneeded revenue in the long run.

The military conflict that took place in GuineaBissau from June 1998 to
early 1999 caused severe damage to the country's infrastructure and widely
disrupted economic activity. Agricultural production is estimated to have
fallen by 17% during the conflict, and the civil war led to a 28% overall
drop in GDP in 1998. Cashew nut output, the main export crop, declined in
1998 by an estimated 30%. World cashew prices dropped by more than 50% in
2000, compounding the economic devastation caused by the conflict.

Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most
successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF
sponsorship. Under the government's postconflict economic and financial
program, implemented with IMF and World Bank input, real GDP recovered in
1999 by almost 8%. In December 2000 GuineaBissau qualified for almost $800
million in debtservice relief under the first phase of the enhanced HIPC
initiative and is scheduled to submit its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
in March 2002. GuineaBissau will receive the bulk of its assistance under
the enhanced HIPC initiative when it satisfies a number of conditions,
including implementation of its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
GuineaBissau follows a nonaligned foreign policy and seeks friendly and
cooperative relations with a wide variety of states and organizations.
France, Portugal, Brazil, Egypt, Nigeria, Taiwan, Libya, Cuba, Sweden, the
Palestine Liberation Organization, and Russia have diplomatic offices in
Bissau.

GuineaBissau is a member of the UN and many of its specialized and related
agencies, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) African Development Bank (AFDB), Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS), West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU),
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Organization of African Unity
(OAU), and permanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the Sahel
(CILSS). GuineaBissau also is a member of the G77, ICAO, FAO and WHO.


U.S.GUINEABISSAU RELATIONS
The U.S. embassy suspended operations in Bissau on June 14, 1998, in the
midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to thenPresident Vieira and
the militaryled junta. Prior to and following the embassy closure, the
United States and GuineaBissau have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations.

The U.S. recognized the independence of GuineaBissau on September 10, 1974.
GuineaBissau's ambassador to the United States and the United Nations was
one of the first the new nation sent abroad. The U.S. opened an embassy in
Bissau in 1976, and the first U.S. ambassador presented credentials later
that year.

U.S. assistance began in 1975 with a $1 million grant to the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement of refugees returning to
GuineaBissau and for 25 training grants at African technical schools for
Guinean students. Emergency food was a major element in U.S. assistance to
GuineaBissau in the first years after independence. Since 1975, the U.S.
has provided more than $65 million in grant aid and other assistance.
At the time of the closure of the U.S. embassy in Bissau, U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) assistance to the country was less than $5
million per year. It focused primarily on increasing sustainable private
sector economic activity in GuineaBissau's critical growth sectors through
USAID's TIPS program, which covered the production, processing, and
marketing of cashews, rice, fruits, and vegetables as well as fish and
forest products. Removing legal, regulatory, and judicial constraints to
private sector activity also as a goal of U.S. assistance. In 2001, USAID
restarted its TIPS program using $1.6m in funding remaining from the
preconflict period. Also in 2001, the State Department approved $250,000 in
Economic Support Funds for GuineaBissau, which was used to fund good
governance programs for the legislature and the judiciary.
The United States and GuineaBissau signed an international military
training agreement (IMET) in 1986, and prior to 1998, the U.S. provided
Englishlanguage teaching facilities as well as communications and
navigational equipment to support the navy's coastal surveillance program.
The IMET program ceased in 1998 and was restarted in 2001.
The Peace Corps withdrew from GuineaBissau in 1998 at the start of the
civil war.

>Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
There is no U.S. embassy in Bissau.

end of document

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US State Department's Background Notes


U.S. Department of State

Background Note Guinea, December 2001

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME
Republic of Guinea

Geography
Area 245,860 sq. km. (95,000 sq. mi.), about the size of Oregon.
Cities CapitalConakry. Other citiesGuckdou, Bok, Kindia, N'Zrkor,
Macenta, Mamou, Kankan, Faranah, Siguiri, Dalaba, Labe, Pita, Kamsar.
Terrain Generally flat along the coast and mountainous in the interior. The
country's four geographic regions include a narrow coastal belt pastoral
highlands (the source of West Africa's major rivers) the northern savanna
and the southeastern rain forest.
Climate Tropical.

People
Nationality Noun and adjectiveGuinean(s).
Population (1996 census) 7.2 million, including refugees and foreign
residents. Refugee population (June 2001 est.) 180,000200,000 Liberians
and Sierra Leoneans.
Cities Conakry (pop. 1.5 million). Population of largest
prefecturesGuckdou (348,053), Bok (294,314), Kindia (288,007),
N'Zrkor (282,903), Macenta (281,053).
Annual growth rate (1996 census) 2.8%.
Ethnic groups Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, other ethnic groups 10%.
Religions Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, traditional beliefs 7%.
Languages French (official), national languages.
Education Years compulsory8. Enrollmentprimary school, 53.5% (male 67%,
female 40%) secondary, 15% and post secondary, 3%. Literacy (Total
population over age 15 that can read and write, 1996 est.)36% (male 50%,
female 22%).
Health (1999 World Bank) Life expectancytotal population 54 years.
Infant mortality rate (1999 World Bank)98/1,000.
Work force (1995 Minister of Plan) 3.4 million.Agriculture 76% industry
and commerce 18%services 6%.

Government
Type Republic.
Independence October 2, 1958. Anniversary of the Second Republic, April 3,
1984. Government based on ordinances, decrees, and decisions issued by a
president and his ministers or through legislation produced by the National
Assembly and approved by the President.
Branches Executive Elected President (chief of state) 25 appointed
civilian ministers. LegislativeElected National Assembly (114 seats).
JudicialSupreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions Region, prefecture, subprefecture, rural
district.
Political parties Legalized on 1 April 1992. Seven parties, of the more
than 40 with legal status, won seats in the June 1995 legislative elections.
ProgovernmentParty for Unity and Progress (PUP) and DJAMA. Opposition
Rally for the Guinean People (RPG), Union for a New Republic (UNR), Party
for Renewal and Progress (PRP), Union for Progress of Guinea (UPG),
Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG), Union of Republican Forces (UFR).
Suffrage Universal over age 18.
Central government budget (1998) $328 million.
Flag Red, yellow, and green vertical stripes.

Economy
GDP (2000 est.) $5.3 billion.
Annual economic growth rate (2000) 1.8%.
Per capita GDP (2000 est.) $480.
Avg. inflation rate (2000) 6.8%.
Natural resources Bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, water power, uranium,
fisheries.
Industry (28.4% of GDP) Typesmining, light manufacturing, construction.
Trade (28.2% of GDP) Exports$793 million bauxite, alumina, diamonds,
gold, coffee, pineapples, bananas, palm products, coffee.
Agriculture (20.4% of GDP) Productsrice, cassava, fonio, millet, corn,
coffee, cocoa, bananas, palm products, pineapples, livestock, forestry.
Arable land30%. Cultivated land4%.
Major marketsEuropean Union, U.S., Commonwealth of Independent States,
China, Eastern Europe, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco.
Official exchange rate (November 2001) Approximately 1968 Guinean francs =
U.S. $1.
Fiscal Year January 1 December 31.

GEOGRAPHY
Guinea is located on the Atlantic Coast of West Africa and is bordered by
GuineaBissau, Senegal, Mali, Cte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The
country is divided into four geographic regions A narrow coastal belt
(Lower Guinea) the pastoral Fouta Djallon highlands (Middle Guinea) the
northern savannah (Upper Guinea) and a southeastern rainforest region
(Forest Guinea). The Niger, Gambia, and Senegal Rivers are among the 22 West
African rivers that have their origins in Guinea.

The coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate,
with a rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and
uniform temperatures, and high humidity. Conakry's yearround average high
is 29 degrees C (85 degrees F), and the low is 23 degrees C (74 degrees F)
its average annual rainfall is 430 centimeters (169 inches). Sahelian Upper
Guinea has a shorter rainy season and greater daily temperature variations.

PEOPLE
Guinea has four main ethnic groupsPeuhl (Foula or Foulani), who inhabit
the mountainous Fouta Djallon Malinke (or Mandingo), in the savannah and
forest regionsSoussous in the coastal areas andSeveral small groups
(Gerz, Toma, etc.) in the forest region.

West Africans make up the largest nonGuinean population. NonAfricans total
about 10,000 (mostly Lebanese, French, and other Europeans). Seven national
languages are used extensively major written languages are French, Peuhl,
and Arabic.

HISTORY
The area occupied by Guinea today was included in several large West African
political groupings, including the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires, at
various times from the 10th to the 15th century, when the region came into
contact with European commerce. Guinea's colonial period began with French
military penetration into the area in the mid19th century. French
domination was assured by the defeat in 1898 of the armies of Almamy Samory
Tour, warlord and leader of Malinke descent, which gave France control of
what today is Guinea and adjacent areas.

France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and early
20th centuries with the British for Sierra Leone, the Portuguese for their
Guinea colony (now GuineaBissau), and the Liberia. Under the French, the
country formed the Territory of Guinea within French West Africa,
administered by a governor general resident in Dakar. Lieutenant governors
administered the individual colonies, including Guinea.

Led by Ahmed Skou Tour, head of the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG),
which won 56 of 60 seats in 1957 territorial elections, the people of Guinea
in a September 1958 plebiscite overwhelmingly rejected membership in the
proposed French Community. The French withdrew quickly, and on October 2,
1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent republic, with
Skou Tour as president.

Under Tour, Guinea became a oneparty dictatorship, with a closed,
socialized economy and no tolerance for human rights, free expression, or
political opposition, which was ruthlessly suppressed. Originally credited
for his advocacy of crossethnic nationalism, Tour gradually came to rely
on his own Malinke ethnic group to fill positions in the party and
government. Alleging plots and conspiracies against him at home and abroad,
Tour's regime targeted real and imagined opponents, imprisoning many
thousands in Sovietstyle prison gulags, where hundreds perished. The
regime's repression drove more than a million Guineans into exile, and
Tour's paranoia ruined relations with foreign nations, including
neighboring African states, increasing Guinea's isolation and further
devastating its economy.

Skou Tour and the PDG remained in power until his death on April 3, 1984,
when a military junta headed by thenLt. Col. Lansana Conte seized power.

GOVERNMENT
The president governs Guinea, assisted by his appointed council of 25
civilian ministers. Government administration is carried out at five levels
In descending order, they are Eight regions, 33 prefectures, over 100
subprefectures, and many districts (known as communes in Conakry and other
large cities and villages or "quartiers" in the interior). Districtlevel
leaders are elected the president appoints officials to all other levels of
the highly centralized administration.

Principal Government Officials
PresidentGen. Lansana Cont
Prime MinisterLamine Sidim
Minister of Foreign AffairsHadja M'Mahawa Bangoura
Minister of FinanceCheick Ahmadou Camara
Minister of TransportCeilou Dalein Diallo
Minister of MiningIbrahima Soumah
Minister of Defensecurrently under the President
Minister of Territorial Administration and DecentralizationMoussa Solano
State Secretary of CooperationMory Kaba
Ambassador to the United StatesMohamed Aly Thiam
Ambassador to the United NationsFrancois Fall

Guinea maintains an embassy in the United States at 2112 Leroy Place, NW,
Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 2024839420) and a mission to the United Nations
at 140 E. 39th St., New York, NY 10016 (tel. 2126878115/16/17).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The Military Committee of National Recovery (CMRN), took control of Guinea
in April 1984, just one week after the death of independent Guinea's first
president, Skou Tour. The CMRN immediately abolished the constitution,
the sole political party (PDG) and its mass youth and women's organizations,
and announced the establishment of the Second Republic. In lieu of a
constitution, the government was initially based on ordinances, decrees and
decisions issued by the President and various ministers.

Political parties were proscribed. The new government also released all
prisoners and declared the protection of human rights as one of its primary
objectives. It reorganized the judicial system and decentralized the
administration. The CMRN also announced its intention to liberalize the
economy, promote private enterprise, and encourage foreign investment in
order to develop the country's rich natural resources.

The CMRN formed a transitional parliament, the "Transitional Council for
National Recovery" (CTRN), which created a new Constitution (La Loi
Fundamental) and Supreme Court in 1990. The country's first multiparty
presidential election took place in 1993. These elections were marred by
irregularities and lack of transparency on the part of the government.
Legislative and municipal elections were held in 1995. Conte's ruling PUP
party won 76 of 114 seats in the National Assembly, amid opposition claims
of irregularities and government tampering. The new National Assembly held
its first session in October 1995.
Several thousand malcontent troops mutinied in Conakry in February 1996,
destroying the presidential offices and killing several dozen civilians.
Midlevel officers attempted, unsuccessfully, to turn the rebellion into a
coup d'etat. The Government of Guinea made hundreds of arrests in
connection to the mutiny, and put 98 soldiers and civilians on trial in
1998.

In mid1996, in response to the coup attempt and a faltering economy,
President Cont appointed a new government as part of a flurry of reform
activity. He selected Sidya Tour, former chief of staff for the Prime
Minster of the Cote d'Ivoire, as Prime Minister, and appointed other
technically minded ministers. Tour was charged with coordinating all
government action, taking charge of leadership and management, as well as
economic planning and finance functions. In early 1997, Cont shifted many
of the financial responsibilities to a newly named Minister of Budget and
Finance. These changes put Guinea on a track that included solid economic
growth and improved infrastructure and services for its population.

In December 1998, Cont was reelected to another 5year term in a flawed
election that was nevertheless an improvement over 1993. Following his
reelection and the improvement of economic conditions through 1999, Cont
reversed direction, making wholesale and regressive changes to his cabinet.
He replaced many technocrats and members of the Guinean Diaspora that had
previously held important positions with "homegrown" ministers, particularly
from his own Soussou ethnic group. These changes have led to increased
cronyism, corruption, and a retrenchment on economic and political reforms.
Beginning in September of 2000, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel
army, backed by Liberian President, Charles Taylor, commenced largescale
attacks into Guinea from Sierra Leone and Liberia. The RUF, known for their
brutal tactics, in the near decadelong civil war in Sierra Leone, operated
with financial and material support from the Liberian government and its
allies. These attacks destroyed the town of Gueckedou as well as a number
of villages, causing largescale damage and the displacement of tens of
thousands of Guineans from their homes. The attacks also forced the UNHCR
to relocate many of the 200,000 Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees
residing in Guinea. As a result of the attacks, legislative elections
scheduled for 2000 were postponed and have yet to be held.

After the initial attacks in September 2000, President Cont, in a radio
address, accused Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees living in the country
of fomenting war against the government. Soldiers, police, and civilian
militia groups rounded up thousands of refugees, some of whom they beat and
raped. Approximately, 3,000 refugees were detained, although most were
released by year's end.

Since June 2001, the main political issue has been the extension of the
President's mandate, which is currently limited to two terms and scheduled
to expire in 2003. After staying silent and above the fray for the first
four months of the debate, President Cont endorsed the referendum, which
set into motion a flurry of activity by the government and the ruling Party
for Unity and Progress (PUP). The opposition has officially come out
against the referendum, but has yet to coordinate any actions against it
other than the occasional press conference and press release. The
opposition is, however, severely hampered by their lack of access to the
electronic media. The independent print media reports on both sides of the
issues, but since Guinea's literacy rate is only 35%, a large majority of
the population hears only the official government side of the issue. The
referendum has been scheduled for November 11, and the Government of Guinea
and PUP activities are in full swing to ensure the desired result of another
term for Cont. On October 17, it was announced that the long postponed
legislative elections would be held December 27, 2001.

ECONOMY
Richly endowed with minerals, Guinea possesses an estimated onethird of the
world's proven reserves of bauxite, more than 1.8 billion metric tons (MT)
of highgrade iron ore, significant diamond and gold deposits, and
undetermined quantities of uranium. Guinea has considerable potential for
growth in the agricultural and fishing sectors. Soil, water, and climatic
conditions provide opportunities for largescale irrigated farming and
agroindustry. Possibilities for investment and commercial activities exist
in all these areas, but Guinea's poorly developed infrastructure and rampant
corruption continue to present obstacles to largescale investment projects.

Joint venture bauxite mining and alumina operations in northwest Guinea
provide about 90% of Guinea's foreign exchange. The Compagnie des Bauxites
de Guinea (CBG), a joint venture in which 49% of the shares are owned by the
Guinean Government and 51% by an international consortium (mostly U.S. and
Canadian interests), exported about 12.5 million MT in 2000. The Compagnie
des Bauxites de Kindia (CBK), a joint venture between the Government of
Guinea and Russki Alumina, produces some 2 million MT, nearly all of which
is exported to Russia and Eastern Europe. Dian Dian, a Guinean/Ukrainian
joint bauxite venture, has a projected production rate of 1 million MT per
year, but is not yet under production. The Alumina Compagnie de Guine
(ACG), which took over the former Friguia Consortium, produces about 650,000
MT of alumina annually.

Diamonds and gold also are also mined and exported on a largescale. AREDOR,
a joint diamond mining venture between the Guinean Government (50%) and an
Australian, British and Swiss consortium, began production in 1984 and mined
diamonds, which are 90% gem quality. Production stopped from 1993 until
1996, when First City Mining of Canada purchased the international portion
of the consortium. More recent diamond mining ventures include HYMEX and
the South African De Beers Corporation. DeBeers has operated in Guinea
since 1994. The largest gold mining operation in Guinea is a joint venture
between the government and Ashanti Gold Fields (85%) of Ghana. Other
concession agreements have been signed for iron ore, but these projects are
still awaiting preliminary exploration and financing results.

The Guinean Government has adopted policies to return commercial activity to
the private sector, promote investment, reduce the role of the state in the
economy, and improve the administrative and judicial framework. Guinea has
the potential to develop, if the government carries out its announced policy
reforms, and if the private sector responds appropriately. So far,
corruption and favoritism, the border conflict, lack of longterm political
stability, and lack of a transparent budgeting process have dampened foreign
investor interest in major projects in Guinea.

Reforms since 1985 include eliminating restrictions on agriculture and
foreign trade, liquidation of some parastatals, the creation of a realistic
exchange rate, increased spending on education, and cutting the government
bureaucracy. Since the beginning of the reform programs, both the number of
public enterprises and the civil service payroll have been cut in half.
Under 1996 and 1998 IMF/World Bank agreements, Guinea continued fiscal
reforms and privatizations, and shifted governmental expenditures and
internal reforms to the education, health, infrastructure, banking, and
justice sectors.

In July 1996, President Lansana Cont appointed a new government, which
promised major economic reforms, including financial and judicial reform,
rationalization of public expenditures, and improved government revenue
collection. A concerted effort by the government to implement this program
had begun to bear fruit in advancing Guinea's economy and commercial sector
into the intermediate stages of development, expanding international trade,
agricultural production, and manufacturing capabilities. Then in 1997 the
head of that government was stripped of his responsibilities, which were
mainly economic, and finally fired in 1999. The economy has shown little
progress since and growth has slowed. Corruption and a lack of set goals in
development are the main causes of this downward turn of the economy. The
informal sector continues to be a major contributor to the economy.

The government revised the private investment code in 1998 to stimulate
economic activity in the spirit of a free enterprise. The code does not
discriminate between foreigners and nationals and provides for repatriation
of profits. While the code restricts development of Guinea's hydraulic
resources to projects in which Guineans have majority shareholdings and
management control, it does contain a clause permitting negotiations of more
favorable conditions for investors in specific agreements. Foreign
investments outside Conakry are entitled to more favorable benefits. A
national investment commission has been formed to review all investment
proposals. The United States and Guinea have signed an investment guarantee
agreement that offers political risk insurance to American investors through
OPIC. In addition, Guinea has inaugurated an arbitration court system,
which allows for the quick resolution of commercial disputes.

Until June of 2001, private operators managed the production, distribution
and feecollection operations of water and electricity under
performancebased contracts with the Government of Guinea. However, both
have continued to battle inefficiency, corruption and nepotism over the past
year, and foreign private investors in these operations have recently
departed the country in frustration. The Government of Guinea is giving
itself one year to clean up the problems with the companies and hopes to
then search for new partners to operate these utilities. The Government of
Guinea hopes to strengthen the financial health of the energy sector by
improving invoicing and collections, containing costs and improving
services. New electric power sector regulations will pave the way for
greater private investment in the energy sector. The 1995 elimination of
the public monopoly on petroleum product importation and commercialization
means private distributors are now operating in Guinea.

DEFENSE
Guinea's armed forces are divided into four branchesarmy, navy, air force,
and gendarmeriewhose chiefs report to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Col. Kerfalla Camara. The Chairman reports directly to the
President, who took responsibility for the Ministry of Defense in early
2000. The 10,000member army is the largest of the four services. The navy
has about 900 personnel and operates several small patrol craft and barges.
Air force personnel total about 700 its equipment includes several
Russiansupplied fighter planes and transport planes. Several thousand
gendarmes are responsible for internal security.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Guinea's relations with other countries, including with her West African
neighbors, have improved steadily since 1985. Guinea reestablished relations
with France and Germany in 1975, and with neighboring Cte d'Ivoire and
Senegal in 1978. Guinea has been active in efforts toward regional
integration and cooperation, especially regarding the Organization of
African Unity and the Economic Organization of West African States (ECOWAS).
Guinea takes its role in a variety of international organizations seriously
and participates actively in their deliberations and decisions.

Guinea has participated in both diplomatic and military efforts to resolve
conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and GuineaBissau, and contributed
contingents of troops to peacekeeping operations in all three countries as
part of ECOMOG, the Military Observer Group of ECOWAS. Guinea has offered
asylum to more than 700,000 Liberian, Sierra Leonean, and Bissauan refugees
since 1990, despite the economic and environmental costs involved.

The civil wars, which engulfed Liberia and then Sierra Leone during the
1990s, have negatively impacted relations between Guinea and these two
fellow Mano River Union member countries. Guinea and Liberia have accused
each other of supporting opposition dissidents, and in late 2000 and early
2001, Guinean dissidents backed by the Liberian government and RUF rebels
from Sierra Leone brutally attacked Guinea. These attacks caused over 1,000
Guinean deaths and displaced more than 100,000 Guineans, and relations
between the two countries remain hostile. Recent negotiations, fostered by
the Mano River Union Women's Peace Network, have thawed relations to some
extent, but accusations by both sides of dissident support still dominate
the relationship.

Guinea belongs to the UN and most of its specialized related agencies
Organization of African Unity (OAU) International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD) African Development Bank (AFDB) Niger River Basin
(NRB) Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Organization of
the Islamic Conference (OIC) Mano River Union (MRU) Gambia River Basin
Organization (OMVG) Nonaligned Movement (NAM). Guinea was recently elected
to the UN Security Council for the 2year term beginning with the 56th
General Assembly, which began October 2001.

.S.GUINEAN RELATIONS
The United States maintains close relations with Guinea. U.S. policy seeks
to encourage Guinea's sustainable economic and social development, and its
full integration into regional cooperative institutions, to achieve
economic, social, political, and environmental objectives. The U.S. also
seeks to promote increased U.S. private investment in Guinea's emerging
economy.

The U.S. Mission in Guinea is composed of five agenciesDepartment of
State, USAID, Peace Corps, the Centers for Disease Control, and the
Department of Defense. In addition to the providing the full range of
diplomatic functions, the embassy obligated in FY 2001 $52,900 for SelfHelp
projects and $75,000 for Democracy and Human Rights projects. The embassy
also manages a military assistance program that provided nearly $1.5 million
for military education, language training, and humanitarian assistance
programs.

USAID Guinea is now one of only five sustainable development missions in
West Africa, with current core program areas in primary education, family
health, democracy and governance, and natural resources management.

The Peace Corps has about 100 volunteers throughout the country. Volunteers
teach English and mathematics in high schools, assist in village development
and health education, and collaborate with USAID on a natural resources
management project. Guinea was the first country to inaugurate a
fullfledged Crisis Corps program, a new Peace Corps initiative developed to
address natural and manmade disasters.

Principal U.S. Officials
AmbassadorBarrie Walkley
Deputy Chief of MissionJames Elliott
USAID DirectorHarry Birnholz
Peace Corps DirectorGeorge Greer
Public Affairs OfficerMelvia Hasman

The U.S. Embassy is located at 2d Blvd. and 9th Avenue, Conakry. The mailing
address is B.P. 603, Conakry, Guinea (tel 411520/21/23 fax 411522).

end of document

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Details & Reservations: Background Note Guinea, December 2001
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]]> http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024349_Travel-Warning-Guinea http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024349_Travel-Warning-Guinea Official Info Guinea Mon, 23 Oct 2000 00:10:00 US State Department Travel Warning for Guinea -
US State Department Travel Warning for Guinea


September 13, 2000
The region of Guinea bordering Sierra Leone and Liberia has experienced renewed crossborder incursions and kidnappings by armed factions. As a result of rising tension in the region, U.S. Government and U.S. Governmentaffiliated personnel located within 63 miles (100 kilometers) of Guinea's border with Sierra Leone and Liberia have been recalled to Conakry.

The Department of State urges U.S. citizens residing in or visiting Guinea to leave the area between the ConakryMamouFaranahMacenta Road and the border until the situation returns to normal.

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]]> http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024350_Travel-Consideration-Guinea http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024350_Travel-Consideration-Guinea Official Info Guinea Mon, 23 Oct 2000 00:10:00 US State Department Travel Considerations for Guinea -
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]]> http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024148_Background-Notes-Guinea http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024148_Background-Notes-Guinea Official Info Guinea Fri, 06 Oct 2000 00:10:00 U.S. Department of State information for the Republic of Guinea. -
U.S. Department of State information for the Republic of Guinea.



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