International Relations : Cameroon and Spain Strengthen their University Cooperation

The Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Professor Jacques FAME NDONGO, received in audience this Friday 16 December 2022, at the Cameroon University’s Network and Digital Development Supervision Center, His Excellency Ignacio Garcia LUMBRERAS, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Cameroon.

The Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education opened the meeting in a tone that was both friendly and solemn, by wishing the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain a warm welcome and a pleasant stay on Cameroonian soil. This first meeting between the two personalities was an opportunity to consolidate the good academic and heuristic relations that exist between Cameroon and Spain; a university cooperation governed by the Convention on Scientific and Cultural Cooperation, signed in Yaounde on 27 May 1988, as well as several agreements between some Cameroonian and Spanish Universities.

The discussions focused on a draft Memorandum of Understanding, initiated by the Spanish delegation, with the aim of promoting research, fostering the exchange of experience, and consolidating inter-university partnerships. In this regard, the Minister of State presented the vision of the Cameroonian university system, which aims to be more competitive by moving to the forefront of continental and even global Universities. This ambition can be fulfilled with the help of all friendly countries and international partners.

In his speech, His Excellency Ignacio Garcia LUMBRERAS, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain praised Cameroon’s hospitality, so much admired in his country. He also appreciated the high rate of learning of the Spanish language and culture in Africa, with our country at the top, with almost 400,000 learners each year. The diplomat also raised the issue of facilitating the procedures for issuing equivalences, as well as easing the procedures for obtaining visas, especially for scholarships and academic mobility.

Following the discussions, both parties agreed to set up a technical working group.  Besides reviewing the draft Memorandum of Understanding, this body made up of representatives of the Cameroonian and Spanish Ministries in charge of Higher Education, will be responsible for examining the different areas of university cooperation between the two countries.