Curtains descended on the three day State Visit of Cameroon?s Head of State to China last Friday at the Seaport City of Tianjin. President Paul Biya and First Lady Chantal Biya had a crowded agenda throughout their stay in China.
From the Airport welcome ceremony last Wednesday to the visit to the Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly plant last Friday afternoon, President Paul Biya worked round the clock to meet the deadlines of a crowded schedule.
At the end of what looked like a marathon, President Paul Biya got away in flying colours with high marks. The assiduity, rigour and density with which the numerous activities on the agenda were covered, underline the importance attached to this high profile visit by the two countries. In quality and quantity, the visit met all objectives and went beyond all expectations. The eventual winner is the bilateral cooperation between Cameroon and China.
Coming at the heels of the fourteenth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, President Paul Biya?s fifth visit to China re-enforced and re-affirmed the values of friendship and loyalty. The message was loud and clear that the bonds that tie the two nations will stand the test of time, getting stronger and more relevant by the day. As a development partner, China remains a model, given its quantum leap in infrastructural, technical and economical advancement.
Mutual Benefits China?s foreign aid philosophy pegged on ?helping recipient countries build up their self development capacity, imposing no political conditions and adhering to equality, mutual benefit and common development?, are the greatest strength of South-South cooperation. Thanks to the numerous cooperation agreements signed before and during this visit, infrastructural projects are ineluctably transforming both rural and urban Cameroon.
One of the main objectives of President Paul Biya?s State Visit was to re-enforce the bilateral cooperation and demonstrate Cameroon?s legendary gratitude to our true friends. A balance sheet of the forty years old relationship between the two countries speaks louder than words and is a practical demonstration of the positive values of loyalty and consistent friendship that appear to be rare commodities in the murky waters of today?s international relations.
The three day State Visit therefore was geared towards re-enforcing the strategic partnership that China strives to nurture with Cameroon. As an island of peace and stability, under the leadership of a Statesman whose diplomacy of peace attracts international acclamation, Cameroon remains a model of reliability.
At the political and economic level therefore, the visit attained all its objectives. The meetings with all the top echelons of Chinese political structure, the audiences granted to Chinese economic operators and the series of cooperation agreements signed are the positive fallouts of President Paul Biya?s three days State Visit to China.
Cooperation Agreements Cameroon-Chinese cooperation has a legal framework of agreements that have been signed. Before the visit last week, over twenty agreements were already in the process of execution. Last Wednesday, some eleven other cooperation agreements were signed between the two countries. With close to 30 cooperation agreements now binding the two countries in all aspects of human life. It is evident that the quality and quantity of bilateral cooperation has seen a dramatic increase. It has been said that, this year alone China has earmarked over CFA five hundred billion for infrastructural development in Cameroon.
The visit of President Paul Biya and wife was not only an occasion to congratulate the Chinese for the positive development of their country, it provided a sterling plate form to re-enforce confidence between the two and to secure long lasting support for Cameroon in the future.
In the many speeches delivered by President Paul Biya during his stay in China, a central theme of ?re-enforcement of bilateral cooperation? was consistent. In the speeches of Chinese officials in Beijing and Tianjin as well, the same theme was re-echoed time and again. It is therefore clear the visit was a vital reassertion and reminder of the need to consolidate existing bilateral ties between the two countries.
Strategic Partnership In the visit to Tianjin last Friday, President Paul Biya and wife appreciated the Chinese model of development. The museum of urban planification and the Airbus assembly factory in Tianjin City added weight to the need for Cameroon to re-enforce cooperation with this great country where nothing is left to chance in a bid to stay at the zenith of technological development. A major lesson from the visit is the acknowledgement that development requires not only a peaceful and stable environment but a huge dose of patriotism and love for country.
The audiences granted Chinese economic operators was another occasion to tighten the knot of economic cooperation. The positive fallouts of these audiences will increase economic investments in Cameroon by dynamic economic operators from China. The determination of both countries to re-enforce their strategic partnership emerges as a major outcome of President Paul Biya?s three-day State Visit to China.
