India, A Long-time Friend!

Cameroonians are familiar with India at least for one major reason – its cinema. India’s Hindi language film industry, Bollywood, has for over 100 years thrilled international audiences, including Cameroonians. Yet, there are only about 1,000 Indians in Cameroon. But this has not in any way diminished the strong ties between India and Cameroon which have enjoyed friendly and cordial relations since 1960. Bilateral ties gathered momentum during the third India-Africa Forum Summit, IAFS-III in New Delhi, India from October 26-30, 2015. Earlier, President Paul Biya visited India in March 1983 to attend Non-Aligned Movement summit.

Former Prime Minister Philemon Yang, accompanied by seven cabinet ministers and a large business delegation, visited India in March 2013 to attend the Confederation of Indian Industry, CIIEXIM Bank of India Conclave on Africa. Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on April 9, 2019 in Yaounde met with Abhay Thakur, India’s High Commissioner to Cameroon with residence in Abuja, Nigeria. “India plans to shortly open a permanent diplomatic representation in Yaounde,” Thakur informed the press afterwards. The announcement was fulfilment of the pledge by India in April 2018 to open 18 new embassies in Africa by 2021. India and Cameroon signed a trade agreement in February 1968, thus laying the foundation for bilateral cooperation.

From 2017-2018, India was Cameroon’s fifth largest trading partner with two-way trade worth 407 million US dollars. In February 2018, an Indian firm, Africure Pharmaceuticals, set up a 29.8 million US dollars plant in Douala to produce essential drugs for local consumption. In 2007, India offered 60 tractors and agricultural implements to Cameroon. New Delhi has been training Cameroon Armed Forces personnel under the India Technical and Economic Cooperation, ITEC programme with focus on counterterrorism, anti-piracy operations and UN peacekeeping operations.

On the other hand, the Pan-African e-Network Project was inaugurated...