Between 2014 and 2016, Cameroon will gain FCFA 63 billion from its bilateral cooperation with the Federal Republic of Germany.

The German Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E Dr Klaus-Ludwig Keferstein, disclosed this in a speech during a party organised to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the unification Germany at the Hilton Hotel on October 2.

The occasion was the commemoration of the fall of the Berlin wall that, hitherto, put East and West Germany asunder. After its collapse, the two parts of the country closed ranks to become the Federal Republic of Germany.

The German Ambassador used the occasion to laud the bilateral cooperation ties between the two countries. According to him, “Within the framework of development, I am pleased to recall that inter-government discussions at the end of 2013 enabled the allocation of FCFA 63 billion for bilateral cooperation in 2014 to 2016.”

The allocation, he went on, will be used to enhance the sustainable management of natural resources, good governance, public finance and decentralisation, as well as rural development in Cameroon.

He remarked that, within the ambit of the bilateral cooperation, Germany was equally supporting the Cameroon Government to improve maternal health. He said the German International Cooperation; GIZ, and the German Development Bank; KFW, were playing a key role in the execution of the projects which will contribute in the realisation of Cameroon’s development objectives.

The Ambassador said culture and science constitute essential elements of cooperation between the two countries. He said he was happy that the work done by the Goethe Institute was appreciated enormously in Cameroon.

The diplomat said also that the number and intensity of cooperation projects between the universities of the two countries was on the upbeat. He observed that many Cameroonians study in Germany. He lauded the Germano-Cameroon friendship, expressing joy that many Cameroonians supported the German Team that won the World Cup in Brazil recently.

Besides the celebration of the German Unification, the Ambassador recalled dates that are important to his country and the world. He said 2014 marks 100 years since the First World War started and 75 years since the Second World War began.

Such events, he went on, enable them to be more committed to peace, democracy, and the protection of human rights all over the world. He said Germany knows that the European Union is the guarantor of peace, liberty and well-being of the Region.

To him, Germany was committed in the preservation of peace, respect of human rights, democracy, good governance as well as the fight against hunger and acceleration of socio-economic development in Africa. With a global African approach, he said, Germany is determined to play its role whether as a nation or within the European Union.

The cream of the Yaounde society, including Government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and the civil society, attended the occasion.