The Heads of State and government of the Central African State Economic Community (CEEAC), concluded their meeting with a commitment to provide 50 billion FCFA (86.5 million dollars) in emergency aid to the governments of Cameroon and Chad, to support their current military efforts facing the security challenges posed by the armed militant group, Boko Haram.
This commitment is a major step as participants left the previous COPAX meeting in Yaoundé without agreeing on any financial commitment.
In Yaoundé, government and State heads also decided to create a multidimensional support fund for logistics, humanitarian aid, communication and political and diplomatic actions.
They instructed the CEEAC Secretary General to develop an action plan for these various areas which will be submitted to COPAX for the adoption and implementation.
The final release issued from their meeting specifies that the Heads of State have decided to reinforce the surveillance of their respective territories and lead awareness and communication actions to help their nationals to reduce the risks of infiltration of Boko Haram members within the sub-region’s borders and cut off their supply network.
On the inter-regional model of the fight against maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, they showed their desire to develop an active cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (CEDEAO in French) in order to eliminate the terrorist group Boko Haram.
The Presidents of Equatorial Guinea and the Congo, respectively Teodoro Obiang Ngema and Denis Sassou Nguesso have been mandated to work more closely with the CEDEAO president to explore the possibility of holding a joint summit of the CEEAC and the CEDEAO to adopt a common strategy to fight Boko Haram.
They will also be working more closely with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to increase cooperation between his country and two member States of the CEEAC that share his country’s borders.
