By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
The Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, and the outgoing United States Ambassador to Cameroon, HE Christopher John Lamora, assessed the state of US-Cameroon cooperation as the Ambassador concludes his mission. The discussion took place during a private meeting in Yaoundé on Friday, January 9.
In their hour-long audience, the two officials reviewed the bilateral partnership, reflecting on the accomplishments of the past four years of diplomatic engagement in Cameroon.
The farewell meeting provided an opportunity for Ambassador Lamora to express his deep gratitude to the Cameroonian government and its people, as well as to Minister Ousmane Mey and his team, for the quality of cooperation maintained throughout his tenure.
“When I arrived in Cameroon as ambassador in March 2022, I made courtesy calls on all the government ministers, and Minister Ousmane Mey was among the first I visited,” Ambassador Lamora said. “The reason I chose to see him early on was due to the importance the United States places on economic development in Cameroon, as well as our trade and investment relationship.”
As he prepares to leave Cameroon next week, Ambassador Lamora noted the significance of revisiting several ministers, including Ousmane Mey, to assess progress on development projects and memoranda of understanding aimed at enhancing Cameroon’s development and creating opportunities for both American and Cameroonian businesses.
“I believe we have achieved significant progress that benefits both our peoples and countries,” he stated.
The meeting also allowed for a review of several key issues that have characterized bilateral cooperation in recent years. Both officials reaffirmed their mutual desire to strengthen, intensify, and diversify the friendly and dynamic cooperation that has linked Cameroon and the United States for nearly 60 years.
The US-Cameroon partnership is longstanding, robust, and multifaceted, encompassing areas such as humanitarian aid, economic development, governance, health, security, climate change, and trade. The cooperation has led to considerable exchanges aimed at promoting investments, creating jobs, and enhancing technical and economic collaboration between Yaoundé and Washington.
According to official sources, US-Cameroon cooperation has mobilized over $650 million in bilateral humanitarian aid since 2014, benefiting approximately 1.4 million people in 2021, while trade between the two countries reached $366 million in 2018.
