Some members of Cameroon’s Senate and the National Assembly have established ties with a delegation of French MPs in a bid to foster cooperation.
It was on the sidelines of President Macron’s visit to Cameroon that three members of the French National Assembly and one Senator met with their colleagues of Cameroon. The meeting described by the MPs as rich and fruitful served as a platform for members of both Houses from Cameroon and France to discuss avenues to renovate and foster relations. The French delegation comprising Amelia Lakrafi, Eduard Courtial, Bruno Fuchs, Thomas Gassilloud and Lisa Plesse met with members of the Parliamentary network for Diaspora and decentralized cross-border cooperation, Repcod.
The parliamentary network headed by Henry Ngantcha has since its creation been working as a linchpin between government and Cameroonians living abroad. According to Hon. Ngalle Daniel, Secretary General of Rep-Cod, “the strength of our cooperation is our diaspora and so this network realized there was a gap between what the government is doing and our brothers in the diaspora. The raison d’être of the network is therefore to facilitate the flow of information between the diaspora and government.” The fact that a handful of the diaspora has a soiled image does not put the rest in the same basket aand that is why the network is striving establish a beneficial relationship between the government and its diaspora. Meeting with French MPs was therefore of the essence as Rep-Cod’s president outlined ways through which the French government can help Cameroonians living in France to invest back in Cameroon.
Hon. Amelia Lakrafi was elated to see the representation of women in parliament as well as the presence of several political parties and expressed the wish to see a more dense collaboration with their Cameroonian colleagues. Other salient issues discussed by the MPs included the training of Parliamentary staff, financing of some major projects in the National Assembly, easing of visa issuance to Members of Parliament and the role of France to assist Cameroonians resident in France to return home and invest.
Claudette CHIN
