China, Cameroon celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties
President Xi Jinping said China and Cameroon have stood together through thick and thin for half a century.
CAPE TOWN, March 26 (ANA) – Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Friday exchanged congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
In his message, Xi said that over the past half a century China and Cameroon have stood side by side through thick and thin, and the traditional friendship between the two countries has grown stronger with time, the agency said.
He added that, in recent years, the friendly co-operative relations between the two countries have enjoyed a strong momentum of development with deepening political mutual trust and fruitful results in practical co-operation.
China has been working with Cameroon and other African countries since the outbreak of Covid-19 to help and support each other in fighting the coronavirus.
He further expressed the willingness to work with Biya to implement the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation and to enhance their joint efforts to build the Belt and Road. This would benefit the two countries and their peoples and make positive contributions to forging a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.
In 2019, China announced that it had written off almost US$78 million from Cameroon’s debt as part of the measures to ease economic hardship in the Central African nation, according to cable TV news service CGTN.
For his part, Biya hailed the tangible benefits to the people of Cameroon from co-operation with China. The Cameroonian leader noted that China has become an important force on the international stage.
Even more encouraging is that China has been attaching importance to South-South co-operation and supporting African countries in achieving development and vitalisation, Biya said.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher