Ambassador Ömer Faruk Dogan gave a lecture at the Protestant University of Central Africa.

The Turkish Ambassador to Cameroon, His Excellency Ömer Faruk Dogan, has commended Cameroonians for their legendary religious tolerance. Speaking on Friday May 10, 2013 in Yaounde at the Protestant University of Central Africa, Etoa-Meki, the Ambassador said Cameroon has such a high level of religious tolerance that even many Western countries were yet to experience.

He said it was common to find members of the same family who belong to different religions living peacefully together. He therefore urged Cameroonians to jealously guard such a virtue. The Ambassador was invited by the Rector of the Protestant University of Central Africa, Rev. Prof. Timothé Bouba Mbimi, to share his country's development experience with the staff and students.

The Turkish diplomat emphasised that stability was a sine-qua-non for development that only comes through quality training and education. Cameroon, he said, has intelligent young people capable of living up to the challenge. Education is wisdom without which nothing is achieved, and there is always need to upgrade one's knowledge, the Turkish Envoy said.

He recalled how Turkey's development was achieved through the people's personal efforts. Today, the country is the sixth largest economy in the European Union which it is aspiring to join. The Ambassador appealed to Cameroonian youth to emulate his country's example in order for their country to become emergent by 2035. He was however quick to warn against the enemies of development which he said are ignorance, poverty and instability.

Ambassador Dogan said after visiting all of Cameroon's ten administrative regions, he has realised that the country possesses all what is needed for development. He talked of the huge potentials in cash crop production, mining and power generation for export. Cameroon's geostrategic location, he pointed out, makes it a dependable economic and business partner to most of its neighbours. All what is needed now is more hard work.

Ambassador Ömer Faruk Dogan also announced plans for the imminent signing of a twinning agreement between the Protestant University of Central Africa and the University of Ankara.