The UK Minister for Development and Africa, Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP, has reaffirmed UK support to Cameroonian trade and infrastructure and discussed the devastating impacts of Cameroon's conflicts including the human rights situation during a two-day visit.
The Minister saw the impacts of British investment in Cameroon, visiting a major road in the commercial capital, Douala, which is receiving £113 million in funding from UK Export Finance to support its expansion. Due to this important UK support, the critical transportation corridor between Douala and Yaounde, and on into central Africa, is being greatly improved, bringing more and quicker trade to more people.
The UK is committed to deepening its partnership with Cameroon to enhance economic prosperity, with leaders from the country invited to attend the UK-African Investment Summit to be held in London in April 2024.
The Minister met with representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and discussed the most pressing challenges faced in providing humanitarian assistance to victims of the devastating conflict in the Northwest and Southwest.
Over the past five years, the UK has delivered more than £20 million of humanitarian life-saving assistance funding to Cameroon. Meeting with experts from the Education Cannot Wait programme, the Minister discussed how UK funding, through the UN, is supporting urgent education for children affected by conflict, helping those who cannot access school to get an education.
The UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell said:
During my third visit to Cameroon, but first as a Minister rather than a businessman, I was struck by the depth of our relationship and how our two countries are working on a range of issues important to both nations.
The long-term partnership between the UK and Cameroon is underpinned by important development and security cooperation, as well as trade, investment and education and of course our ties within the Commonwealth. We have been a strong humanitarian donor over many years, particularly in response to the conflict in the predominantly Anglophone Northwest and Southwest Regions. The UK continues to urge for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
High-level discussions were held with the Prime Minister Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, focussing on the conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions, and the conflict in the Far North Region and Lake Chad area, where the UK military provides valuable training.
