CAMEROON-NIGERIA MIXED COMMISSION MEETINGS

Final Communiqués

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NINETEENTH MEETING

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All Opening Statements

Communiqué adopted at the nineteenth meeting of
the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission
established pursuant to the Joint Geneva communiqué of 15 November 2002

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Yaoundé, 6 July 2007

1.     The Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, which was established pursuant to the Joint Communiqué adopted at the meeting held on 15 November 2002 in Geneva between His Excellency President Paul Biya of Cameroon and His Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, in the presence of the Secretary General of the United Nations, held its Nineteenth Ordinary Meeting in Yaoundé on 5 and 6 July 2007. Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations chaired the deliberations of the Mixed Commission in the presence of the Vice-Prime Minister, Amadou Ali of Cameroon, and Prince Bola Ajibola (CFR) of Nigeria, who led the Cameroonian and Nigerian Delegations respectively.

2.     The Mixed Commission considered and adopted the report of the 10th meeting of the Working Group on the Maritime Boundary which was held on 4 and 5 July 2007. It decided that the latter would hold an extraordinary meeting in Yaoundé on 23 and 24 August 2007, in order to finalize the loxodrome which extends beyond Point X seaward. It requested the Working Group to consider the preliminary questions concerning the oil and gas fields straddling the maritime boundary and those along it, as well as cross-border co-operation.   

3.     The Mixed Commission considered and adopted the report of the Seventeenth meeting of the Sub-Commission on Demarcation, which was held on 4 and 5 July 2007. It commended the excellent demarcation process of the land boundary during phase I and II of field assessment covering approximately 700 km. The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to intensify its efforts to expedite the land boundary demarcation. To that end, the Mixed Commission decided that Phase III of the field assessment exercise should be carried out from 22 October to 5 December 2007 and requested   the Joint Technical Team to cover an additional distance of 500 km by the end of the year 2007. To that end, it requested the JTT to split up into two teams that will be working simultaneously.

4.     The Mixed Commission further exchanged views on the situation of land demarcation contracts. It decided that Contract V concerning the emplacement of boundary pillars be subdivided into three separate sub-contracts and that the contract award procedures be expedited. In this connection, the Parties requested the Chairman of the Mixed Commission to involve local contractors of Cameroon and Nigeria in the emplacement of pillars along the land boundary. Accordingly, the Mixed Commission decided that the Joint Technical Team shall meet from 20 to 22 August 2007 in Yaoundé to discuss the implementation of the contracts and suggest an appropriate methodology for expediting the demarcation process.

5.     The Mixed Commission further undertook to resolve, as soon as possible, the pending issue related to Mada and other issues on the land boundary.

6.     The Mixed Commission noted with satisfaction the approval and adoption by the Follow-up Committee of the report of the Joint Observer Group on the latter’s fourth visit to the Bakassi peninsula from 27th April to 2nd May 2007. While commending the work carried out by the Observers, the Mixed Commission recognizes the need to ensure the well-being of the populations of the peninsula, notably in terms of the social infrastructure as well as environmental protection. The Mixed Commission commended the efforts of Governments of Cameroon and Nigeria to meet the needs of the populations. It also heard the representative of UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) on the assistance that this organization can render for the capacity building of the local communities.  

7.     The Mixed Commission reiterated its appeal to the member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) to organise a Summit of Heads of State on the disturbing environmental situation in the Lake Chad Basin, and define appropriate strategies for the mobilization of the required resources to finance the inter-basin water transfer project. To that end, it requested the Chairman of the Mixed Commission to relaunch contact with the Secretariat of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in view of the organization of such a Summit in the near future.  

8.     The Mixed Commission decided to undertake a sensitization campaign among development partners in order to mobilize funds to finalize the demarcation activities and start programmes related to confidence-building measures.