By DOH JAMES SONKEY
Cameroon’s long time strategic traditional partner, France has disclosed that it shall disburse FCFA 40 billion to help rebuild Cameroon’s crisis-hit North West and South West regions.
The announcement was made last October 24, 2019 by visiting French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean Yves Le Drian.
Reiterating the news, French Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E Christophe Guillou explained that “When the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean Yves Le Drian came to Cameroon, he announced a FCFA 30 billion contribution from France to help develop the Far North but besides that, he also announced a FCFA 40 billion contribution for the reconstruction of the North West and South West regions which have suffered for the past three years.”
Guillou indicated that the money to be made available as soon as calm returns to these two regions, will be used to finance diverse projects that are still to be determined with the help of Cameroonian authorities and the affected population.
It is worth noting that this announced French assistance to Cameroon is done while hostilities in the field are still ongoing despite the organisation last September 30 to October 4, 2019 at the Yaounde Conference Centre, of the Major National Dialogue whose recommendations are yet to be implemented.
France’s assistance comes almost a year after China offered humanitarian assistance to Cameroon worth FCFA 1.7 billion (about 20 Yuan) at the dawn of President Paul Biya’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in 2018.