President Biya’s Representative at the TICAD, PM Dion Ngute, has issued a rallying call for synergy to sustain progress in maintaining global peace and stability.
The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, made the call at the opening session of the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD-9.
Addressing delegates on peace and security, Dion Ngute, President Biya’s envoy to the conference, emphasised Cameroon’s strategic contribution to continental stability, stating that, “Cameroon plays a central role in regional and sub-regional stabilisation.”
President Biya, through the Prime Minister, said the country is “working to significantly reduce terrorist threats both on its own territory and alongside other countries in the Lake Chad Basin through the Multinational Joint Task Force.”
He urged stakeholders to collaborate to enhance the security situation: “However, this environment cannot be maintained without innovation. That is why Cameroon wishes to co-develop with Japan and our TICAD partners early warning systems supported by artificial intelligence, coastal and river surveillance technology, drones, and digital platforms to enhance food security.”
The Prime Minister noted that TICAD 2025 “is taking place at a time when our continent continues to grapple with multiple sources of tension, further compounded by cross-border threats such as climate change, transnational crime and terrorism, cybercrime, disinformation, and pandemics.”
As a solution to these challenges, he stated, “Africa has established a peace and security architecture, reinforced by peace missions coordinated by the African Union and its partners.”
These efforts, the Head of State’s envoy said, “require stronger support, particularly in logistics, training, and financing to ensure effective coherence and sustainable African responses.”
Highlighting Cameroon’s contribution, Dion Ngute told delegates that the country hosts “the International Security Forces Academy in Yaoundé, which trains the defence forces of more than a dozen African countries, and our military and police personnel actively participate in international peacekeeping missions, notably in MINUSCA and stabilisation efforts in Haiti.”
The Prime Minister’s address underscored Cameroon’s collaborative role in combating terrorism and insurgency in the sub-region.
It should be noted that the Multinational Joint Task Force is a coordinated security response involving Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon against Boko Haram and other extremist groups.
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development, now in its ninth edition, is held every three years. It serves as a major platform for dialogue between African leaders and international development partners, focusing primarily on sustainable growth and security cooperation across the continent.
By Andrew Nsoseka
