President Idriss Deby Itno's working visit to Cameroon ends today

The friendly and working visit of H.E. Idriss Deby Itno, President of the Republic of Chad, that began on Thursday, 22nd May 2014 ends this Friday 23rd May 2o14.

The forty-eight hour visit which was highlighted by a tete a tete between the two leaders was spiced by sincere discussions between top officials from both governments on a wide range of issues.

Below is a Joint Communiqué that sanctioned the working and friendly visit.

On the invitation of His Excellency Paul Biya President of the Republic of Cameroon, His Excellency Idriss Deby Itno, President of the Republic of Chad, paid a friendly and working visit to Cameroon from Thursday, 22 May to Friday, 23 May 2014.

1. During the visit, which is part of efforts geared towards strengthening bilateral friendly and cooperation ties between Cameroon and Chad, both Heads of State held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral and international issues of common interest. 2. Concerning bilateral issues, the two Heads of State lauded the excellent friendly and cooperation ties between their two countries and peoples.

They expressed satisfaction with the dynamism of the ties, especially in the areas of trade, livestock breeding and fisheries, communication infrastructure construction, education, electricity interconnection and information and communication technologies.

3. Both Heads of State agreed to deepen and revitalize such multi-facetted cooperation and decided to broaden the framework of their bilateral relations. H.E. Paul Biya reiterated Cameroon's determination to participate in the "Save Lake Chad" Initiative process.

4. The two Heads of State commended the forthcoming signing of the project to construct a railway line between Ngaoundere and N'djamena. They also welcomed the forthcoming signing of the agreement on the terms and conditions for the construction of the second border bridge over River Logone, between Kousseri and N'gueli.

5. They expressed their determination to do everything possible to ensure that this dynamic cooperation facllitates emulation and produces positive spill-over effects on the Central African sub-regional integration process.

6. Regarding goods transport between Cameroon and Chad, both Heads of State agreed on the need for the two countries to make every effort to simplify and facilitate procedures and improve practices to ensure fluid traffic flow.

7. At the international level, H.E. President Paul Biya and H.E. Idriss Deby Itno exchanged views on issues relating to economy, development and international peace and security.

They successively discussed security issues in the Central African sub-region, notably in the Central African Republic and in neighbouring countries, religious fundamentalism, the source of tension in the sub-region and beyond, as weil as c1imatechange, desertification and regional integration.

8. Pleased with the total convergence of their views on ail the issues discussed, the two Heads of State reaffirmed their commitment to working for the consolidation of peace and security at their common border.

They instructed their respective administrations to speed up the demarcation of the border so as to complete it in 2014, and prescribed the strengthening of cooperation to fight cross-border crime, poaching and the looting of parks and protected areas.

9. The two Heads of State reaffirmed their determination to continue working for peace and stability in the Central African Republic. 10. They agreed on more effective pooling of their efforts and ordered closer consultation between their armed forces along the border in order to effectively fight against the activities of the Boko Haram group.

11. On behalf of the Chadian people, H.E. Idriss Deby Itno expressed his heart-felt gratitude to the President of the Republic of Cameroon, H.E. Paul Biya, the Government and the Cameroonian people for the warm and fraternal welcome and all the tokens of consideration extended to him and his delegation during this important visit.