The over 150 defence personnel recently appointed to work in Cameroon's diplomatic missions and bureaus abroad, henceforth know that their major assignment is to promote the country's image and defend its interests in the respective stations and international organizations to which they have been posted.

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o yesterday, August 7, 2012 in Yaounde enjoined them to put into effective practice the knowledge they have acquired in relation to conventions governing diplomatic conduct in carrying out their complex mission. He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the seminar that started on July 30 with the objective to acquaint the defence personnel with their new duties and the different functions of the services within the diplomatic mission.

Mebe Ngo'o stated that diplomats and the military are the two main actors of the diplomatic world today. The appointed officials have to respect discipline which is an integral part of the defence forces and promote harmony of the diplomatic mission headed by ambassadors.

Summing up their mission and skills acquired, Colonel Adeck Moise, appointed Military Adviser to the African Union said, "We were given the fundamental principles of our foreign policy and the strategic place defence occupies within the diplomatic mission." Officials from the Ministry of External Relations as well as some senior military officials carried out the training. The defence personnel were handed end-of -course testimonials.

Besides the two Secretaries of State in the Ministry of Defence, the ceremony at the Yaounde Combined Services Military Academy (EMIA) was also attended by the Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey and the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of External Relations in charge of Relations with the Islamic World, Adoum Gargoum.