USA Africa Dialogue Series - CAMEROON GOVERNMENT BREAKS NEW GROUNDS ON DIASPORA AFFAIRS: APPOINTS MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY FOR THE DIASPORA WITH OFFICE IN THE DIASPORA

BUT YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE END FOR THE CAKE!!

CAMEROON GOVERNMENT BREAKS NEW GROUNDS ON DIASPORA AFFAIRS: APPOINTS MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY FOR THE DIASPORA WITH OFFICE IN THE DIASPORA

TO CAMEROON, AFRICA IN MINIATURE Young Cameroonian in Georgia, USA  President Paul Biya of Cameroon has appointed Mrs. Naomie Begala Mikel as Minister Plenipotentiary of the Diaspora. The position serves as the Directorate for Diaspora developments and Cameroonians Living Abroad.   The symbolic cake is at the end of this announcement! Bringing service nearer to the constituency, Cameroon offers a model among African Union (AU) Member States because the substantive office is stationed in the Diaspora, operating from the Cameroon Embassy in Washington, DC, USA and serving Cameroon emigrants and their descendants living in every part of the world outside Cameroon, including in other AU Member States. The  milestone appointment comes among sweeping changes in Cameroonian Embassies throughout the globe and the new dimension recognizing the valiant and desired role that Cameroonian emigrants and their descendants living outside Cameroon can play in the development of their country of origin and ancestry. The major leap forward materialized after the successful maiden Forum of the Diaspora, the equivalent of Diaspora Homecoming, in June 2017. It was, in deed, a follow-through and fulfillment of  an outcome. FORUM OF THE DIASPORA 2017 The  first ever Forum for the Diaspora was convened by the government of Cameroon at the Yaounde Conference Centre from June 28-30, 2017 Theme:  "Cameroon and its Diaspora:  Working together for the development of the nation." Center: Cameroon's Minister of External Relations: Lejeune Mbella Mbella,  The Cameroonian Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella, in the presence of  the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, set the motion rolling for Forum of the Diaspora (FODIAS 2017) during a press briefing in Yaounde on June 22, 2017. Below: Cameroon Prime Minister Philemon Yang (fourth from right opens Forum of the Diaspora. Workshops and there were more... With the adoption of the first Five Ten-Year Strategic Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 (2014-2023), in Goal 16, Priority Area 1, each Member State is expected to establish a Diaspora Office as the focal point of Diaspora Developments. Many States had engaged their Diasporas since the early 2000s.  There is no further political or legal framework required for nationals of Member States to participate in the AU system since participation as an AU citizen is through membership in an AU Member State.   More countries are engaging their nationals living abroad including having full Cabinet Ministries, like Mali and Morocco.  In a trend that reckons with the increasing need to integrate constituents living abroad in national development frameworks, countries identify their Diaspora as an integral national population by renaming their Foreign Ministries, for examples: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Living Abroad/Guineans Living Abroad, etc. to distinguish the population from  foreign affairs. The number of Diaspora Directorates, Committees, Commissions is in ascendancy but all located in the nations, unlike the new model set by Cameroon. Some Member States' local governments engage their indigenes in formalized relations.  For examples, Abia, Anambra, Ondo States in Nigeria have established Diaspora relations.  The Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Kimera Muwenda Mutebi 11, in Uganda, hosted the Buganda Homecoming in December 2016. There may be multiple Diaspora offices at the national level. For examples: President Buhari has a Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs. There is a Committee on Diaspora Affairs in the Nigerian National Assembly. In July 2017, the Nigerian government signed a bill that established a Commission on the Diaspora. Senegal created history in July 2017 with Diaspora contestants for the parliament resulting in 15 Seats for Diaspora representatives in the Senegalese Parliament. March 2015: Left: The Presiding Officer Emeritus of the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU ECOSOCC) H.E. Dr. Joseph Chilengi and Africa-wide Representative in the AU ECOSOCC 2nd General Assembly.  Right:  The Prime Minister of Cameroon, H.E. Pilomeon Yang  The African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council is the AU organ mandated and entrusted with the duty to engage Member States civil society and organizations, which include the African citizenry in the Diaspora, in the implementation of Agenda 2063 and to report to the African Heads of State on the progress.   Mrs. Naomie Begala Mikel:  Minister Plenipotentiary of the Diaspora,  Republic of Cameroon

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