The Transport Minister will defend the bill in the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Minister of Transport, assisted by his colleague of External Relations will in the days ahead in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, defend the bill to authorize the President of the Republic to ratify the Air Agreement between the government of the Republic of Cameroon and the government of the People’s Republic of China relating to the establishment of Air Services between and beyond their respective territories, signed in Beijing on 21 April 2011. The bill was tabled during a plenary sitting of the National Assembly, yesterday, June 12, chaired by the First Vice President, Hon. Hilarion Etong.

The agreement is intended to promote trade and the movement of people and goods between the two countries. Government justifies the agreement by the fact that China is Cameroon’s strategic economic partner. This necessitates that the two countries formalize cooperation in the area of air transport in view of consolidating the good economic relations existing between them for over 40 years.

The Air Agreement will allow designated companies of the two countries to operate seven weekly frequencies on the indicated routes. They will also carry out code sharing and block space commercial activities, in accordance with the effective rights they hold, subject to the approval of the said arrangements by the aviation authorities of the parties. The agreement as stated in the explanatory statement to the bill, has 24 articles. It is based on the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), in particular, those relating to safety and security of air services and trade-related activities between the designated companies.