Bordeaux, Douala cities strengthen ties

The Minister of External Relations received a delegation from the French city recently.

The cities of Bordeaux in France and Douala in Cameroon have entered a number of agreements to strengthen cooperation in several domains, with priority on economic cooperation as well as sustainable development.

A delegation from Bordeaux led by the Adviser Delegate in charge of International Relations and Decentralised Cooperation, Michel Vernejoul, told the press after a courtesy visit to the Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella on June 29, 2016, that increased cooperation will concern basic services such as water supply, sanitation and transport, amongst others.

He said the move to deepen partnership with Douala was an initiative of the President of the Bordeaux Urban Community and Mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé.

Given Bordeaux’s reputation for its wine, Michel Vernejoul said prospection and training will be carried out in Douala to ensure that wine from Bordeaux gets more promotion and visibility. “Bordeaux wine is a brand and an image,” he affirmed.

The Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux in charge of Partnerships with Sub-Saharan Africa, Cameroonian-born Pierre de Gaëtan Njikam Mouliom, was also part of the visiting delegation that was accompanied by the Government Delegate to the Douala City Council, Dr. Fritz Ntone Ntone.