On Thursday November 7, 2024, the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation Dr Madeleine Tchuinte granted an audience to the French Ambassador in Cameroon, His ExcellencyThierry Marchand. The Ambassador H.E. Thierry MARCHAND was accompanied by the Country Director of the French Development Agency (AFD),Virginie DAGO, the Resident Representative of IRD in Cameroon,Dr Télesphore Sime Ngando and the Attaché for Scientific and University Cooperation of the French Embassy, Professor Stephanie Mailles Viard.
The aim of the audience was to examine, the level of scientific and technical cooperation between the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation (MINRESI) and the French government, with emphasis on the construction of the Environmental Biogeosciences Research Center (CBE) in Nkolbisson under the C2D Programme. This center will go a long way to support research on climate and the environment. The audience was also an opportunity to revisit excellent cooperation ties between MINRESI and French institutions in Cameroon, particularly with the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Research Institute for Development (IRD).
After the audience which lasted for closed to an hour, the Country Director of AFD-Cameroon, Virginie DAGO in an interview disclosed that the main purpose of the meeting at the request of the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, was to take stock of the progress in the mobilisation of funds,so that the construction of the Environmental Biogeosciences Research Center under the C2D Programme becomes a reality as quickly as possible.
CIRAD celebrated its 40th anniversary on 17 September 2024 with a round table discussion at IRAD, attended by a large delegation from MINRESI.
On 17 September 2024, IRAD’s ‘Salle des actes’ hosted the ceremony commemorating the 40th anniversary of the International Cooperation Centre for Agronomic Research and Development (CIRAD) in Cameroon. Under the theme: “Shared research to grow the world of tomorrow in Central Africa”, this celebration brought together eminent personalities. The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, was represented by the Secretary General of MINRESI, Prof Rebecca EBELLE ETAME. It was also attended by the French Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E. Thierry MARCHAND, the Director General of IRAD, Dr Noé WOIN, and the CIRAD Regional Director for Central Africa, Dr Thierry LEROY.
The ceremony was divided into four phases. The first entailed speeches, with five speeches highlighting CIRAD’s history and activities in Cameroon. In her closing speech, Prof EBELLE ETAME Rebecca Madeleine praised the collaboration between CIRAD and the State of Cameroon, and expressed the Government’s desire to “further engage with this exceptional partner in the training and capacity-building of young researchers, with a view to promoting the emergence of a new generation of local experts capable of addressing and advancing issues crucial to our country’s development”.
The second phase was the round table discussion. It brought together five experts who explored key themes, namely: “Evolution in Cocoa Research and Cooperation”, “40 years of partnership: impact, challenges and prospects”, “Presentation of the agroforestry partnership research scheme”, “Presentation of the R2FAC partnership research scheme” and “Innovations brought by ONE HEALTH”. The interactive session, which formed the third phase, enabled participants to exchange ideas and make their own contributions to the discussion.
The celebration ended in a convivial atmosphere with a cocktail offered by CIRAD to its guests, after a family photograph was taken. The celebration reinforced CIRAD’s commitment to research and sustainable development in Central Africa.It also highlighted the historic partnership between CIRAD and IRAD.
The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, addressed the 68th Ordinary Session of the IAEA General Conference, held in Vienna, Austria.
As Head of Delegation, the Minister of Scientific Research and innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE was actively involved at the 68th Ordinary Session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference, which kicked off on Monday 16 September 2024 in Vienna, Austria.
On Tuesday 17 September 2024, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE addressed the IAEA General Assembly on behalf of Cameroon, which was warmly welcomed by the participants. She congratulated IAEA Director General and his team for “enhancing nuclear safety and security in the world thereby helping to prevent nuclear accidents, particularly in conflict zones”. Likewise, she pointed out that Cameroon welcomed initiatives undertaken by IAEA to meet the needs of Member States in the face of global challenges by applying nuclear techniques. She went on to highlight technical cooperation with Cameroon.The Minister stated that:”Cameroon strongly commends efforts to prioritise the emergence agenda and actions aimed at enhancing food and agricultural production sustainability and resilience as well as related means of livelihood in Member States“.
The following officials were part of the delegation led by MINRESI:Mr Victor NDOCKI, Ambassador, Head of the Permanent Mission of Cameroon to the IAEA; Mr Augustin SIMO, Director General of ANRP; Mr Patrice ELE ABIAMA, National Coordinator of the AFRA Programme; Mr Colince NGUELO, Representative of MINADER, Mr Francis Emmanuel NGOME AJEBESONE, Deputy Director General of IRAD.
The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr. Madeleine TCHUINTE granted an audience to the Italian Ambassador in Cameroon, Fillipo SCAMMACCA DEL MURGO, on Wednesday, 28 August 2024. The diplomat came with an invitation from the Minister of Higher Education and Research, of the Republic of Italy, regarding Cameroon’s participation in the G7 Conference on Research and Training with African countries, which will be held in October.
This audience was equally the opportunity to review scientific cooperation between Cameroon and Italy. The Minister encouraged the mobility of researchers between the two countries through study visits and joint projects. The aim of this mobility is to enable Cameroon benefit from Italian expertise and creativity in various fields, including biotechnology, genetics and the processing of local materials such as marble for tile manufacture. This transfer of skills and experience promotes the development of scientific entrepreneurship, which is at the heart of MINRESI’s concerns under the motto ‘One researcher, one company’.
The Italian diplomat on his part praised the dynamism of Cameroonian researchers, highlighting that his country’s industrial structure, based on small and medium-sized enterprises, is well suited to set collaborations and equal partnerships with research structures based in Cameroon. Moreover, he expressed his country’s commitment to support Cameroon and other African countries in the production of medicines based on local resources. He also expressed Italy’s interest in agricultural research and research into zoonoses such as Mpox. The audience closed with a friendly exchange of courtesies.
The IAEA held a regional workshop on radiological crime scene management at the Mont Febe Hotel from 8 to 12 July 2024.
The regional workshop on radiological crime scene management began on Monday 8 July 2024 at the Mont Febe Hotel. The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, who was unavoidably absent, was represented at the opening ceremony by the Secretary General of the same ministry, Prof. Rerbecca EBELLE ETAME. The 5 day workshop was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with the Government of Cameroon through the National Radiation Protection Agency (ANRP). Participants from four countries (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic) were enlightened on procedures and techniques to deal with crime scenes involving nuclear and radioactive materials.
These radiological crime scenes require specific procedures and operations, such as taking into account the time spent in the controlled zone, the distance between radionuclide-contaminated evidence, the experts who collect the evidence and their radiological protection etc. However, Cameroon and many other African countries do not have the expertise required for nuclear safety. As a result, they often turn to foreign experts. This was the case for Cameroon during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Based on this observation, the workshop on radiological crime scene management was approved by the Government of Cameroon. In her opening address, the Secretary General of MINRESI noted that “the growing prevalence of terrorist acts, which spare no country in the world and which make use of sophisticated technologies, calls for great vigilance by security forces. It has been established that certain terrorist organizations can obtain radioactive or nuclear materials to manufacture radiological dispersal devices in order to spread radioactive contamination in a targeted area,which will result in human, material and environmental damage”.
Through this workshop, the IAEA, which is committed to helping States develop nuclear forensics, provided participants with technical tools to enable them intervene efficiently while dealing with radioactive materials.
The sixth session of the COMECA Project Steering Committee was held on Friday, 14 June 2024 under the chairmanship of the Secretary General of MINRESI.
The sixth and final session of the Committee Steering the Co-creation project on innovative forest resource management, that combines ecological methods and indigenous knowledge (COMECA) was held on Friday, 14 June 2024 in MINRESI’s conference room. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary General of MINRESI, who represented the Minister, Dr Madeleine TCHUINTE, unfortunately unavailable. This meeting was also attended by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), the Chargé de Mission of the Japanese Embassy, the Resident Representative of JICA in Cameroon and other members of the committee.
In her introductory remarks, Prof Rebecca Madeleine EBELLE ETAME thanked the Japanese side for all the multifaceted support that facilitated the smooth running of this project which began in July 2018. She reported that the expected results had largely been achieved, especially regarding the design of: a model to sustainably use wildlife; a system to produce and process Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) that would provide a source of income other than the bush meat trade; and finally a model to sustainably manage forest resources. This project has thus made it possible to propose alternatives to bush meat income through improving, producing, processing and marketing NTFPs. Thanks to this project, local communities in the Boumba Bek and Nki national parks (in the East region) have strengthened their capacities in producing and processing njansang kernels. In addition to these achievements directly linked to the project, the Japanese Cooperation has built a research station at Zoulabot, which will be handed over to the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD).
As a reminder, the COMECA project is a continuation of the FOSAS project (Establishing Sustainable Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management Strategies in the Rainforest of Cameroon and Surrounding Areas) which was carried out between 2011 and 2016. It was implemented by the KYOTO University and IRAD. This project was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Program. It was executed by MINRESI and implemented by IRAD in collaboration with several national partners such as MINFOF and the universities of Dschang, Yaounde I and Douala.
The aim of this COMECA project was to create conditions facilitating a close collaboration between people living alongside national parks (BoumbaBek and Nki) and the government, thus permitting them to make a living from products of their environment. In this line, it was necessary to develop innovative mechanisms that will help local people manage forest resources, in order to support them develop activities that would enable them benefit from forest products other than bushmeat.
After operating for 6 years, the project has come to an end. It is now timetoconceive mechanisms thatwould facilitate the monitoring and effective implementation of results obtained. To this end, a platformto ensure that residual activities are carried out in the interest of local population is envisaged.
Lastly, it was on a satisfying note that the Secretary General of MINRESI closed the meeting, requesting Japanese and Chinese parties’ representatives to develop new projects, likely to contribute even more effectively to the well-being of people.
