Toast proposed by President Paul Biya
during the State dinner offered in honour of the visiting Italian President
Mr President of the Italian Republic,
My wife and I are very pleased to welcome
you, as well as your daughter Laura MATTARELLA and the delegation accompanying
you, to Cameroon. We wish you a warm welcome and a pleasant stay among us.
We
are honoured by your choice of Cameroon as one of the laps of your maiden visit
to Africa. That choice bears testimony to the solid friendship ties existing
between our two countries, and also reflects their excellent relationship. The
talks we have held today and the discussions between our business leaders augur
well for the future of our relations.
Cameroon is grateful to you for this mark
of interest and offers you its legendary hospitality in this Palace, which
symbolizes of the unity of our people.
Cameroon
is a young nation. It is resolutely
pursuing its goal, which is to build a modern, democratic and prosperous State.
Despite
numerous challenges, we are making significant and tangible progress each day,
in areas such as promotion of the rule of law, freedoms and protection of human
rights.
Similarly,
we are each day striving to lay a solid foundation for real economic
development through ambitious projects designed to make Cameroon an emerging
country by 2035.
In
this regard, following an arduous structural adjustment period, Cameroon has,
for some years now, returned to growth, which stood at 6% in 2015 thanks to the
sacrifices made by its sons and daughters, and with the assistance of its
partners, among which, Italy.
I
would like to thank your country here and now for its direct and indirect
support.
Mr President,
As
you are aware, terrorism is today a major global concern. Cameroon is not
spared by it. For over two years now, peace has been under threat in the
northern part of our country. We are engaged in a war started by BOKO HARAM, a
Nigerian-based horde of terrorists claiming to belong to the Islamic State.
Nationals of friendly countries, including Italians, have been victims of this
war. Fathers GIANPAOLO MARTA and GIANTONIO ALLEGRINI were abducted sometime ago
by these unscrupulous men. We freed them.
We
are responding strongly to the terrorist atrocities. We are tracking down these
assassins and inflicting heavy and multiple losses on them daily with the
backing of the Multinational Task Force and that of many friendly countries,
including Italy.
BOKO
HARAM terrorists are causing a massive influx of refugees on our territory.
Faced with so many distressed people, we are duty bound by human solidarity not
to turn away those seeking refuge, and to welcome and share with them the
little we have.
Europe and in particular Italy are, mutatis
mutandis, currently experiencing a similar situation, having to grapple with an
unprecedented migrant crisis.
I
have always believed that any lasting solution to this thorny issue should be
based on social morality and human values which I know Italy holds dear.
Indeed,
more than ever before, our world needs greater solidarity.
On the economic front, such solidarity, as
I have often said, means the need for shared global prosperity. It is not about
some begging for charity and others doling it out sparingly.
It is about progressing together under a
solidarity pact, as good partners, willing at all times to conclude mutually
beneficial agreements.
Mr President,
Cameroon
is endowed with huge and varied natural resources. Its excellent ecological
conditions and vast expanses of fertile land are conducive to agriculture. Its
subsoil abounds in diverse mineral resources.
Such
huge potential requires more judicious exploitation and increased local
processing. Also, there is a need for accelerated development of multiple
economic and social infrastructures.
Accordingly,
I call on Italian enterprises, which are known to be competent and serious to
take an interest in the various programmes. By so doing, they will be
contributing, alongside us and within the framework of the solidarity pact I mentioned
earlier on, towards creating in our country and providing much better living
conditions for our youths. This will dissuade them from risking their lives in
quest of an imaginary El Dorado.
I
am aware, Mr President, that many of your enterprises have already established
partnerships in the areas of raw
materials processing and public works. I am also aware that other partnerships
are being negotiated in the infrastructure development and housing sector.
Mr President of the Italian Republic, your
country has been lending invaluable support to the Chantal BIYA International
Reference Centre (CBIRC) for research on HIV since its inception ten years ago.
Before I conclude, I would like to thank you most sincerely for that.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
My
wife and I now invite you to raise your glasses in honour of the President of
the Italian Republic, His Excellency Sergio MATTARELLA, his daughter Laura
MATTARELLA and the delegation accompanying him, and to friendship between Italy
and Cameroon.
Thank you.
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