Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure and honor that the Embassy of Cameroon, my wife
and I welcome you to the Cultural Palace as Cameroon celebrates its 51st
National Day, which holds every May 20th . You will no doubt understand that this slight shift in the celebration here in Riyadh is due to the coincidence of this event with Saturday, which is a weekend in Saudi Arabia.
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CAMEROON NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION 2023
(Riyadh, Cultural Palace, Sunday 21 st May 2023,)
Declaration of the H.E. IYA TIDJANI, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cameroon in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
His Highness Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, Mayor of Riyadh
His Excellency, the Dean of Diplomatic Corps,
Excellencies Ambassadors, Heads of Diplomatic Missions and International
Organisations,
Distinguish Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure and honor that the Embassy of Cameroon, my wife
and I welcome you to the Cultural Palace as Cameroon celebrates its 51 st
National Day, which holds every May 20 th . You will no doubt understand that this
slight shift in the celebration here in Riyadh is due to the coincidence of this
event with Saturday, which is a weekend in Saudi Arabia.
First of all, I would like from the bottom of my heart to thank His Highness
Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf for kindly gracing this ceremony with his
esteemed presence despite his busy schedule. This undoubtedly testifies to the
excellent relations of cooperation that exist between the Republic of Cameroon
and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Indeed, since 1966, the year when Diplomatic Relations between the two
countries were established, these relations have continued to deepen and
cooperation has diversified for the mutual benefit of the two peoples. Thanks to
the will, repeatedly reaffirmed, of His Excellency Paul BIYA, Head of State of
Cameroon and of His Majesty King SALMAN Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Servant
of the Two Holy Mosques and of the Crown Prince, Prime Minister, His Royal
Highness MOHAMED BIN SALMAN, a new dawn was reached with the signing
on November 21, 2021, in Yaoundé of the General Cooperation Agreement
between the Republic of Cameroon and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This
important text will undoubtedly considerably boost the excellent historical
relations that exist between our two countries, particularly in the areas of
investment, trade, mining, agriculture, tourism, sports and the fight against
terrorism. This agreement therefore opens great prospects for cooperation
between Cameroon and Saudi Arabia, especially as it reinforces the Air
Agreement signed between our two countries on March 7, 2017, thus paving the
way for the acceleration and expansion of trade and tourism between Cameroon
and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
I take this opportunity to reiterate to Saudi businessmen, Saudi companies
in the public and private sectors that the Embassy is entirely at their disposal to
facilitate contacts with their counterparts in Cameroon and to provide them with
useful information on the business environment in Cameroon or on tourist
attractions of this cosmopolitan country, located in the heart of Africa and rightly
called “Africa in miniature”.
All the geographical and cultural characteristics of the various African
countries are found in Cameroon: the thick green forest, the numerous rivers, the
waterfalls and lakes, the black and white sand beaches, the savannah and
Sahelian landscapes and a chain mountain range stretching from the Atlantic
Ocean to Lake Chad. Cameroon has more than 250 ethnic groups with different
languages, living together peacefully, in diversity and solidarity.
Economically, Cameroon represents, as you know, 40% of the economy of
the Central African sub-region, with an incentive investment code, designed to
provide basic guarantees to investors such as free repatriation of capital/profit
and access to land ownership. Our soil and subsoil are all very rich in wood,
diamonds, bauxite, nickel, gold and other minerals. In addition, we have a
booming tourism sector. It is a country that must be visited, as a tourist or as an
investor.
Your Highness;
Excellencies;
Ladies and gentlemen ;
Since 2014, Cameroon has been facing, like other African countries in the
Sahelo-Saharan zone, terrorist attacks perpetrated by the BOKO HARAM Group,
particularly in the Far North region of the country. However, thanks to the
enlightened leadership of the HEAD OF STATE, His Excellency PAUL BIYA,
and the combined strategy of the defense forces of the countries of the sub-
region and thanks to the support of international partners, the fire power of this
terrorist group has been considerably reduced. Weakened, BOKO HARAM is
however not completely destroyed. From now on, it is limited to carrying out
sporadic attacks in rural areas. But, each time, our valiant security forces have
successfully repelled them and even neutralized the attackers.
On another front, the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon
also used to be attacked by secessionist groups who, under false pretexts of
trade union complaints, killed innocent civilians, burned schools and hospitals
and destroyed the property. Our HEAD OF STATE enjoined the Government to
organize a Major National Dialogue in September-October 2019 to bring lasting
solutions to this situation. Since then, the majority of fighters have laid down their
arms. The defense and security forces have, however, remained deployed in
these areas to protect the people and their property, and ensure the maintenance
of order and security.
The Government also launched a “disarmament, demobilization and
reintegration” (DDR), program for both ex-combatants of BOKO HARAM and
those of secessionist groups, to promote their return to civilian life, through
programs and projects aimed at facilitating their socio-economic reintegration. I
take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all our partners who have
supported the Government in this process. I would also like to thank countries
which, like the United States of America, have decided to bring to justice those
who live on their territories and fund the secessionist groups.
Your Highness;
Excellencies;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Saudi Arabia is a faithful friend and a major player in International
Relations, as is sufficiently confirmed by the eminent role that this country is
playing in the world economy, the solidarity and cohesion of the Ummah, the fight
against terrorism, the promotion of peace and stability in the Middle East and
beyond. We share similar points of view on major international issues and consult
each other regularly. It is in this context that His Excellency MBELLA MBELLA,
Minister of External Relations of Cameroon received His Highness, Prince
FAISAL BIN FARHAN BIN ABDULLAH, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the friendship and working visit to Cameroon in
October 2020.
I would like to express the Cameroonian Government’s gratitude to the
Saudi authorities for the multifaceted support the are providing to my country,
through the Saudi Development Fund and the Saudi medical caravan which,
since the year 2000, has been sent every year to the Cameroon to bring medical
care to the population. Moreover, a joint medical team from the Al BALSAM
Organization and the King SALMAN Center for Aid and Humanitarian Action
is currently in Cameroon, within this framework.
Your Highness;
Excellencies;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Before concluding my remarks, I would like to reiterate our thanks to the
highest Saudi authorities, in particular His Majesty King SALMAN BIN
ABDOULAZIZ AL SAOUD, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Crown
Prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, Prime Minister, for all the commendable
actions that they have initiated in favor of the Hajj both in terms of organization
and infrastructure.
I would also like to thank the authorities of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the officials of the Diplomatic Quarter who kindly offered the beautiful
facilities of the Palace of Culture to us for the celebration of this ceremony.
thank you colleagues Ambassadors, Heads of Missions and
Representatives of International Organisations. Thank you all for joining us today
to celebrate the Cameroon national Day
Long live Cameroon-Saudi Arabia Cooperation;
Long live international cooperation;
Thank you for your kind attention.
shukran lakum
Thank you very much
