The Ambassador of Israel to Cameroon, Miki Arbel has lauded cooperation ties between the two countries over the years in areas like agriculture and health. Speaking in Yaounde on Thursday April 26, 2012 on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, the Ambassador announced that there would be more opportunities for similar cooperation in agriculture and knowledge sharing.
Reviewing cooperation ties between the two countries, Ambassador Arbel said Cameroon wants to make agriculture a pillar of its development, adding that the potentials are good and the will strong. He noted that there was need for Cameroon to invest more in agriculture and basic infrastructure to take the sector to its desired level.
He announced Cameroon’s participation in an agricultural fair in Israel this month, saying that he hoped the country’s participants would learn from Israel’s experience in the sector. Talking about the situation in the Middle East, the Israeli Ambassador said the challenges were many – including economic and security.
Among those in attendance at the ceremony were the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of External Relations in charge of Relations with the Islamic World, Adoum Gargoum, the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies, Ahmadou Ali, the Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey and diplomats. The occasion was animated by the ‘African Golden Gate Choir’ that did many songs in Hebrew as well as singing the national anthems of Cameroon and Israel.
Cameroon and Israel restored diplomatic relations in August 1986 after a 13-year break. The announcement was made public in a joint communique after two days of talks between the visiting then Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres and President Paul Biya in Yaounde.
