Hon. Mark Simmonds gave a press conference in Yaounde on May 21, 2014 at the end of his trip to Cameroon.

The British Minister for Africa in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hon. Mark Simmonds, who was in the country on the invitation of President Paul Biya, said the meeting  scheduled for the second week of next month in London, will take place on the fringes of a summit on preventing sexual violence in conflicts, an initiative of the UK government.

He said in his discussions with Cameroon government officials earlier in the day, it was agreed that progress should be made on containing the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria before June’s summit in order to take stock and decide what is to happen next. He expressed hope that participants at the May 17, 2014 Paris Summit on Boko Haram will be present.

Briefing the press at the Bastos, Yaounde residence of the British High Commissioner, Hon. Simmonds said he and Cameroonian officials talked at length about security challenges in northern Nigeria created by Boko Haram and their spillover effects in Cameroon. He disclosed that he came to facilitate improved cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria on the security challenges, and how the international community – including Britain – can best support the cooperation.

“I think the May 17, 2014 summit in Paris, France at which the United Kingdom participated, was a success in trying to fuse up cooperation on the matter. I have been very impressed with the determination of Cameroonian government ministers I met to make a significant contribution in doing everything we can to remove the threat Boko Haram poses,” the British minister noted.

The press conference was later followed by a dinner attended by the Minister of External Relations, Prof. Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, diplomats and senior Cameroonian officials.