Chinese holders of service and diplomatic passports no longer require visas from the Cameroon Embassy in Beijing before travelling

Since August 12, Cameroonian and Chinese holders of valid service and diplomatic passports are no longer required to apply for visas to travel to each other’s country. An announcement on the website of the Chinese embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon, reminds the public that the agreement, which was signed on July 7, 2016, took effect on August 12, 2017.

Agreement ratified by Cameroon

According to the terms of the agreement, officials from both countries can enter or transit through each other’s territory without any visa requirement for a maximum period of 30 days, the announcement says. The bill authorizing President Paul Biya to ratify the mutual visa exemption agreement was separately debated and approved by Cameroon’s National Assembly and Senate last April. President Biya later ratified the Act of Parliament.

Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, defended the bill before senators. “The bill marks a further step in consolidating friendship ties between the two countries and tells of the willingness to give more impetus to cooperation,” Lejeune Mbella Mbella told senators last April.

Moreover, the coming into effect of the Act is expected to boost exchanges and diversify economic and trade ties between Cameroon and China. On the other hand, holders of service and diplomatic passports who are members of diplomatic missions, consular offices or are on mission, can now travel to each other’s country to carry out their activities and only apply for visas if they are to stay more than 30 days.

Chinese Ambassador hosts Cameroonian journalists

Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon, Wei Wenhua met local media last April to discuss cooperation between the two countries

Talking to journalists last April 27 in Yaounde during the yearly “Friendship with Cameroon media” reception, Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon, Wei Wenhua, said in spite of the gloomy international economic situation, China-Cameroon cooperation achieved much the preceding year. The volume of trade between the two countries hit 1.96 billion US dollars (about 960 billion FCFA) in 2016; while Chinese investments in Cameroon stood at 35.06 million US dollars (or 21 billion FCFA).

He said the strong and growing relations were evident in various major infrastructure cooperation projects being undertaken by China like the Yaounde-Douala expressway, Kribi-Lolabe expressway and the Bini hydro dam near Warak, Adamawa region. Similarly, China and Cameroon also signed a deal for a gift to construct the country’s new National Assembly building.

Other major projects underway in the country with Chinese support include water supply from River Sanaga to the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, low-cost housing, national broad band and the national emergency telecommunications plan.

At least 1,000 Cameroonians are to be recruited for the Bini Warak hydro dam project undertaken by China. Photo credit: Adamawa archives

More Cameroonians trained in China

Wei Wenhua noted that cooperation between the two countries in the area of training and education was growing. “More than 3,000 Cameroonians travelled to China in 2016 for various training sessions, including 77 winners of scholarships awarded by the Chinese government and Confucius Institute,” the Ambassador disclosed. To crown it all, he said President Paul Biya has been invited to visit China.

Kimeng Hilton Ndukong is Sub-Editor for World News with Cameroon Tribune bilingual daily newspaper in Cameroon. He is currently on media attachment with People’s Daily Online in English.