Cameroon-India growing: trade development cooperation celebration
All Africa | 1 November 2021
Cameroon-India growing: trade development cooperation celebration
Cooperation ties between Cameroon and India have witnessed a great bolster within the past two years during the tenure of the first-ever resident Indian High Commissioner to Cameroon, Rakesh Maholtra following the opening of the Indian High Commission in Cameroon.
The cooperation ties were celebrated on October 29, 2021 during the State dinner offered on behalf of the Head of State, President Paul Biya by the Minister of External Relations Mbella Mbella in honour of High Commissioner Rakesh Maholtra who has come to the end of his diplomatic stay in Cameroon. He presented his letters of accreditation to President Paul Biya on September 25, 2018.
Minister Mbella Mbella during the toast lauded the efforts of High Commissioner Rakesh Maholtra in fostering Cameroon- India cooperation. In terms of trade exchange between the two countries, the Minister said they stand at 904.81 million US Dollars representing an increase of more than 73 per cent. He said during the High Commissioner’s stay at the helm of the Indian diplomatic mission in Cameroon, India contributed much to socio-economic grow the of the country in the domains of public health, agriculture and energy. He singled out the energy sector to point out that India is financing the project of the energy transmission between Abong Mbang- Yaounde and Nkongsamba-Bafoussam. In the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, India supported Cameroon with medical supplies.
In response, High Commissioner Rakesh Maholtra also lauded cooperation at the political level. He disclosed two Cameroonian parliamentary delegations that visited and participated in international events in India, one led by late National Assembly Vice President, Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka and another led by National Assembly Questor Njingum Musa. He expressed the wish to see trade ties between Cameroon and India witness a leap forward considering that the Covid-19 pandemic is gradually abating.
What will forever remain after the State dinner is the souvenir gifts exchanged during the occasion. Minister Mbella Mbella on behalf of the government of Cameroon handed to the High Commissioner an elephant head that symbolises wishes of longevity, benevolence and stability. Cameroon government used the gift to underscore long standing bilateral relations and the intelligence guiding the relations. The Indian High Commissioner also handed a symbolic gift to Minister Mbella Mbella.
