Cameroon – United States relations

Cameroon	United States

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Cameroon–United States relations are international relations between Cameroon and the United States, the relations are close, although from time to time they have been affected by concerns over human rights abuses and the pace of political and economic liberalization. The bilateral U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program in Cameroon closed for budgetary reasons in 1994.

However, approximately 140 Peace Corps volunteers continue to work successfully in agroforestry, community development, education, and health. The Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde organizes and funds diverse cultural, educational, and information exchanges. It maintains a library and helps foster the development of Cameroon’s independent press by providing information in a number of areas, including U.S. human rights and democratization policies. The Embassy’s Self-help and Democracy and Human Rights Funds are some of the largest in Africa.

Through several State Department and USAID regional funds, the Embassy also provides funds for: refugees, HIV/AIDS, democratization and girl’s scholarships. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided a commodity grant valued at $6 million in 2003 to fund agricultural development projects in the North and Far North provinces. A similar program for $4 million was approved in 2004. The program will fund an agricultural development and nutrition enhancement project in the East and Adamawa provinces.

The United States and Cameroon work together in the United Nations and a number of other multilateral organizations. While in the UN Security Council in 2002, Cameroon worked closely with the United States on a number of initiatives. The U.S. Government continues to provide substantial funding for international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, IMF, and African Development Bank, that provide financial and other assistance to Cameroon.

Republic of Cameroon   République du Cameroun
Flag Emblem
Motto: “Paix – Travail – Patrie“  (French) “Peace – Work – Fatherland”
Anthem: Ô Cameroun, Berceau de nos Ancêtres (French) O Cameroon, Cradle of our Forefathers 1
Capital		Yaoundé 3°52′N 11°31′E / 3.867°N 11.517°E / 3.867; 11.517
Largest city		Douala
Official languages		French, English
Demonym		Cameroonian
Government		Republic
-	President	Paul Biya
-	Prime Minister	Philémon Yang
Independence		from France and the UK
-	Date	1 January 1960, 1 October 1961
Area
-	Total	475,442 km2 (53rd) 183,568 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.3
Population
-	2009 estimate	19,522,000[1] (58th)
-	2003 census	15,746,179
-	Density	41.1/km2 (167th) 106.3/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$41.467 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$2,139[2]
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$23.732 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$1,224[2]
Gini (2001)		44.5 (medium)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.532 (medium) (144th)
Currency		Central African CFA franc (XAF)
Time zone		WAT (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+1)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.cm
Calling code		237
1	These are the titles as given in the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon, Article X. The French version of the song is sometimes called “Chant de Ralliement“, as in National Anthems of the World, and the English version “O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers”, as in DeLancey and DeLancey 61.

The Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun) is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon’s coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called “Africa in miniature” for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. English and French are the official languages.

Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões (“River of Prawns“), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and Britain as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun political party advocated independence but was outlawed in the 1950s. It waged war on French and Cameroonian forces until 1971. In 1960, French Cameroun became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons merged with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984.

Compared to other African countries, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president, Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party, and corruption is widespread. The Anglophone community has grown increasingly alienated from the government, and Anglophone politicians have called for greater decentralisation and even the secession of the former British-governed territories.

Cameroon's flag