The two countries mentioned over an interview granted by the Minister of Transport to the Brazilian ambassador to Cameroon on November 3rd that, their desire is to update the air contract that links both nations since 2006, to include some facilities for the acquisition of flying equipment.
Cameroon and Brazil are linked by an agreement on air transport, initialed in 2006 by the officials of the two countries, according to information relayed by the Cameroonian Ministry of Transport. Although the subtleties of this cooperation axis are not known, Cameroon has begun negotiations with the Brazilian authorities for its updating.
This is at least what was revealed by the communication services of the Ministry of Transport, after an audience that the head of this ministerial department granted to Patricia Maria Oliveira Lima, the Brazilian ambassador to Cameroon, on November 3, 2022. According to the latter, the two countries are especially interested in the revival of a joint project that provided for the acquisition by Camair-co, the national airline, of aircraft of the Brazilian brand Embraer.
This initiative dates back to 2010, when the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, visited Brazil for the first time. The promises of cooperation that were made that year had a first operational declination in 2015 with the start of negotiations between Cameroon and Embraer. Specifically, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, specialised in small and medium range aircraft with 70 to 90 seats, proposed to sell aircraft to Camair-co, but also to provide after-sales services to ensure the maintenance of the aircraft. However, more than 5 years later, the deal was never concluded. The only Brazilian aircraft in Camair-Co’s fleet is a 37-seat Embraer 135 LR, which will be leased with crew to Cronos Airlines, a private Equatorial Guinean company, in 2021.
The announced re-launch of cooperation between Cameroon and Brazil in this particular segment is certainly motivated by the planned strengthening of the country’s capacity in terms of reception infrastructures. Indeed, in a press release issued on August 30, 2022, Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, the Minister of Transport announced the imminent launch of the project to rehabilitate the airports of Bertoua, Kribi, and Tiko, which will eventually allow Cameroon to have 10 airports, spread across the 10 regions of the country, including two of international stature, in Yaounde and Douala.
