COMMUNIQUE ADOPTED AT THE TWENTY-FIFTH MEETING OF THE CAMEROON - NIGERIA MIXED
COMMISSION ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THE JOINT GENEVA COMMUNIQUE OF
15 NOVEMBER 2002
Yaoundé, 9 October 2009
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 the Republic of Cameroon and His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the presence of His Excellency Kofi Annan then Secretary General of the United Nations, held its Twenty-fifth Ordinary Meeting in Yaoundé on 8 and 9 October 2009. Mr. Said Djinnit, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations chaired the deliberations of the Mixed Commission in the presence of His Excellency Vice-Prime Minister, Amadou Ali of Cameroon, and Alhaji S. M. Diggi, Director General of the National Boundary Commission of Nigeria, who led the Cameroonian and Nigerian Delegations respectively.
2.
The Mixed Commission considered and adopted the reports of the First Extraordinary Meeting and the Twenty-fourth Ordinary Meeting of the Sub-commission on Demarcation, which were held respectively on 21 August 2009 in Abuja and between 7 to 9 October 2009 in Yaoundé.
3.
The Mixed Commission noted that the Delegations agreed on the technical specifications of boundary pillars and that the Joint Technical Team will resume its assessment visit from 31 October 2009 until 15 December 2009. It was decided that Contract 5A on the construction of boundary pillars should be divided into two distinct sub-contracts (5 A1 and 5 A2). The first of these sub-contracts shall commence at the end of October 2009 and will be completed on 31 January 2010. The two Parties agreed on the contents of the message which will be delivered to the border communities as part of a sensitization campaign which will take place prior to the start of the said works. A ceremony will be organized in early December 2009 to show to the partners the first results of the boundary pillar emplacement. The Mixed Commission requested the Sub-commission on Demarcation to speed up the demarcation process and requested the Joint Technical Team to plan and pursue field assessment in the first quarter of 2010. The Mixed Commission took note of the concerns of the Parties regarding intellectual property rights and the modalities for granting these to the two States Parties throughout the demarcation process.
4.
The Mixed Commission considered and adopted the report of the Third Extraordinary Meeting of the Working Group on the Maritime Boundary which was held on 19 August 2009 in Abuja. It supports its recommendations aimed at preparing a consolidated report for the conclusion of a framework agreement on cross-border cooperation in the exploitation of oil and gas resources.
5.
Concerning confidence-building measures, the Mixed Commission took note of the progress in the construction of the Enugu – Abakaliki – Mamfe – Mutengene cross-border road and the progress in discussions on the construction of a bridge over the Mayo Tiel river between the localities of Demsa (North Cameroon Region) and Belel (Adamawa State, Nigeria). The Mixed Commission also took note of the progress made in the electricity interconnection project between the two countries.
6.
The Twenty-sixth meeting of the Mixed Commission shall take place in Abuja on 4 and 5 March 2010, with the possibility of extension to 6 March 2010.
