Guinea-Bissau Junta Leader Makes First Foreign Trip to Chad Amid Diplomatic Isolation

Guinea-Bissau’s transitional leader, General Horta N’Tam, travelled to Chad on Monday for his first foreign trip since seizing power more than eight months ago, as his military government seeks to break out of diplomatic isolation and shore up legitimacy ahead of planned elections.

N’Tam arrived in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, to attend celebrations marking the country’s 66th anniversary of independence. The Chadian presidency confirmed that N’Tam was “the guest of the president of the Republic of Chad to attend the military parades” for the independence anniversary. His flight left Guinea-Bissau’s main Osvaldo Vieira International Airport at around 9:30 GMT, though no details were given about the leader’s full programme.

Observers say the visit is likely meant to strengthen N’Tam’s legitimacy and reinforce ties with Chad at a critical point in Guinea-Bissau’s political transition. The military took control of the Portuguese-speaking West African nation in late November 2025, 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.

The coup drew widespread condemnation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, both of which suspended Guinea-Bissau from participation. Several countries, including neighbours Senegal and Guinea, also froze or reduced diplomatic engagement with Bissau. A Senegalese delegation designated as mediator by ECOWAS travelled to the country last Thursday to present a new mediation plan aimed at stabilising the transition and restoring constitutional order.

Guinea-Bissau is set to hold presidential and legislative elections meant to restore civilian rule on December 6. The country will additionally hold a referendum on August 30 on whether to approve a constitutional change giving the president more powers. However, the transitional charter, published in December, bars N’Tam from running for election.

Relations between Guinea-Bissau and Chad have strengthened since Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited Bissau in May 2025, during which several sectoral agreements were signed. 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. The latest trip comes as the country continues to navigate a long history of political instability while working to meet the deadlines of its transition back to civilian rule.

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