 Hello. Hello. Welcome to Cameroon and Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Please introduce yourself. Yes, I am Hans Akam. I am the director of Cameroon Pavilion. And I am also a member of Cameroon Consulate General of Cameroon in UAE. I am the deputy consul general. Does Cameroon have a good connection with the UAE? Absolutely. We are having a good connection with UAE, a good relationship that is growing up every day. We are trying to reinforce our ties, our relationship. And now we have given the opportunity to explain what is Cameroon and to show to the entire world that Cameroon is a very, very good and nice country and that Cameroon is a stable country. And what is showcased in this pavilion shows exactly what is Cameroon all about. How big is the population? The population of Cameroon is almost 26, 27 million people. We have in Cameroon two official languages like English and French. And we also have local tones like almost 240 local tones. So everybody speaks French and English? Yeah, basically everybody speaks French and English because these are the languages that are taught in the school, from the primary school to the university. So this is our pavilion. We have the picture of our head of state, His Excellency Paul Bia, the president of the public of Cameroon. And so when we continue just directly lower here, we have the lions. The lion is a symbol. Lion is the figure of Cameroon power and don't forget that our national team, Intermittable Lions, they are called Intermittable Lions. And one of the legends of Cameroon football player Samuel Etofis, who played in many, many teams in Europe. One of the best players in the history of football, no? The best football, obviously, and is now want to lead the Cameroon Football Federation. The election will be taken part on the 13th of December, very soon. You are in a barrage for the World Cup? Yes, we are in a barrage for the World Cup. Absolutely. We want to qualify, we need to qualify. There is no World Cup without Cameroon. It doesn't make sense. I'm sure we are going to be qualified. That's it. When I was a kid, I loved watching, what's his name? The player who is a little bit older. Roger Mila. That was amazing. That was 1990? 1990. Thank you. Obviously, maybe you don't know that Roger Mila visited this pavilion one month ago. Yes, he came here. What is he doing now? Now he is having a very great role to play in Cameroon in terms of educating the youth and advising the head of state in the sports domain. He was 42 years old when he played the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. and he was the oldest scorer of the World Cup in 1994. I think he is giving an idea to the tennis player from my country, Roger Federer. Just continue. No need to stop. It's his job. Why do you need to stop? No, he continued. He continued because not only in the domain of football, Roger Mila was also the president of the Hanbal team in Cameroon. Tonya Hanbal team. He is also gathering people, let's say, promoting other sports. Now, I want you to discover the pavilion. As you see, we are in Cameroon. Cameroon is a diversified country. And in terms of culture, these are our products. These artefacts are basically made with wood and these are bronze. You can see a face mask made with bronze. It expresses the Bamun man from the western region of Cameroon. And here you have also some little elephants made with wood. This is a decorative wooden elephant representing the wide variety of animals in Cameroon. This is a big cat. Yes, this is a big cat made with bronze also. So some of these, the tradition is going back centuries? Yes, the tradition is going back centuries. And this is the expression of our old history. This is even history before the phenomenon of colonization. And here you have the map of Cameroon and the national anthem of Cameroon. Singing by two kids, explaining how Cameroon anthem was written and what is exactly this anthem saying. This is another face mask. And here we have the place where we showcase some projects on the field of education and health. So is there a lot of positive developments happening in the last few years in Cameroon? Things are getting better and better for everybody? Yes, absolutely. You know, Cameroon, we have given the proof to the entire world that we are very resilient concerning some great crisis. All over the world because in Corona we recorded very, very lower cases of... Much lower than all the European countries. Much lower than all the European countries. And less death and less hospitalizations. Less hospitalizations because in Cameroon we have both modern medicine but also traditional medicine. Yes, that's why maybe we think that we need to encourage people who are practicing also traditional medicine. And you're treating the treatments? Absolutely, they are treatments and these treatments have made the proof that this sector of medicine is also efficient. Maybe some of the European countries should learn from Cameroon? Yes, absolutely. Many countries should learn about Cameroon. This is, for example, a know-how of Cameroon because this is a project that is conducted by Madiba and Nature and a private association in Cameroon, a non-governmental association. And with recycled, empty plastic bottles, we succeed in, you know, let's say creating some forms. And this is a boat, this is a boat made with empty bottle plastic. And it actually works? Yes, it works. Some of our fishes use it to go and fish. And it also resolves a problem, the problem of the degradation of nature. Like, you see how people are, let's say, throwing waste in the seas and the oceans. And we gather all these waste and we try to recycle it and it gives us this kind of item. This is the Madiba and Nature, the name of the non-governmental association. And is Cameroon using the fusion reactor in the sky? Sun, sun power, right? Is there a lot of sun, solar power? There is a lot of sun in Cameroon and it is true that if we had some good, let's say good capital, good financing, we could enhance our energy production capacity with the sun and we also fight against the degradation of the ozone. So we encourage green energy also. Maybe this is what partnerships with the UAE or other countries could do, is bring investment to do clean power. Absolutely, and that is the main objective of this pavilion. Not only to showcase our products, our artefacts, but also to look for a partnership, to look for investors. And you continue with other artefacts. Made by wood, mostly wood, because we have a lot of forests in Cameroon. We have a lot of wood in Cameroon, right? So these artists are famous. They're demanded around the world. People can find their art in Cameroon or other places also? Yes, other places also because from Cameroon, you know, some people order some objects and from Cameroon. And these projects are well-sales, the world over. So this is one aspect and the other aspect is agriculture. You know, agriculture is one of our, let's say, greatest activity that comprises at least 60% of the population in Cameroon. So agriculture, we produce everything in Cameroon. That's why Cameroon is also considered as an Africa in miniature because all the food items you have in Africa, we produce in Cameroon. The next step, as far as I understand it, is Europe should import more agricultural products from Africa? Yes, but Europe should also try to, let's say, enhance the capacity of transformation, right? Because if Africa has enough means to transform these agricultural products, it would be good for the world over. Not only import, not only export or import the raw materials, let's say the non-manufactured products. We need to manufacture our products, we need to transform our products so that we can add the value of those products also. So, for example, if there's a cacao or is there a cacao? Yes, we have cacao. And then you would make the chocolate and not only sell the cacao. Not only sell the cacao, but transform in order to have chocolate, in order to have good, let's say, good quality of chocolate. To be a Cameroon brand. Not just selling to the Swiss chocolate. Maybe they buy a lot, but that's great. And at that time we need these exchanges of know-how, these exchanges of technology also. What can be done to make sure that the farmer is getting a fair share of the revenue from selling all these goods, right? Absolutely. That is the duty of the state at that time. To organize the farmers and to, let's say, organize also the process of selling, the process of production also. And that is what our state is doing now. Alright. Because it makes no sense if the agricultural product is sold for like one dollar, but then in the store it's one hundred dollar and the farmer only gets one dollar. It's not fair, right? This is mostly, let's say, issues that we have in Africa in general. We produce goods, we produce food, but our producers, our farmers are not well compensated because of these deterioration of exchange terms. So it will be suitable that our farmers and our producers also have the due revenue of their labor. What are you saying here about the 32% by 2035? So there will be less use of gas. Yes, this is one of the objectives of the COP 21, right? Where states have decided to reduce emission gas, these bad gas that destruct the ozone to 32%. And we have started in Camhoun to, let's say, reduce activities that are deteriorating the nature. Alright, yeah. But definitely Europe, USA, UAE, all these other countries need to come and contribute in terms of technology helping with technology, investment and everything to make it happen. And sometimes we have technology, sometimes we have know-how, but we don't have, let's say, investment. We don't have means, money, let's say, to develop our know-how and to develop our technology. What is France doing with Camhoun? We have a very long cooperation, a very long relationship with France. Don't forget that France is one of the countries that has colonized Camhoun. And Camhoun has been put on the mandate of France during long time. And that is how France, the language, French is one of our heritage. Like also English, because Camhoun was also colonized by England. Alright. And people then walk this way here and see more and more artifacts walking this way? Absolutely. And you have some famous music, right? Yes. There is Manu Dibango, famous Cameroonian saxophonist, a legend. One of the best saxophonists ever in the world and who died unfortunately last year of COVID-19. In France. So Manu Dibango is a reference when we talk about music in Camhoun. And if you visit our virtual pavilion expo, you will hear, okay, in the back, the music of Manu Dibango. And this is a Roger Miller picture. Roger Miller, I talked to you a few minutes ago. Roger Miller, a legend of football. You know that football in Camhoun is our religion, if I can say so. And this is the space that we want to, let's say, reserve for football. Don't forget that Camhoun is hosting the 33rd edition of African Football Cup of Nations. That will be starting on the 9th of January 2022. And these are the videos of some of our players like Samuel Etou, like Tawambakana. Tawambakana is one of our young, let's say talented, who is playing in Saudi Arabia. And he's one of the best scorer in Saudi Arabia's championship. All right. Sorry, the battery ran out. Yeah, okay, let's continue. Okay, I was explaining that this is the lion made with bronze metal, bronze material. And this is the symbol of Camhoun power. And you know, this is the latest space reserve for the African Football Cup of Nations. So I was saying that during this tournament, we are going to video project some football matches here. And we are going to be having a special decoration for the occasion, right? Okay, this is the latest space. When are the Barrage matches for the World Cup? It's happening soon, no? It's happening soon. And I was saying that at the Barrage, we have 10 nations, 10 countries. And we need to select 5 countries. So I think Camhoun will be playing with another country, maybe in one or two matches to be qualified. And I told you that I know we are going to be qualified because without Camhoun, the World Cup has no sense. I think it just cancels. Cancels the World Cup. So maybe to finish with our presentation, I would like to show you this is our flag. Camhoun flag. And also other artifacts, other items. And here we are talking about solar energy. These are some of our projects concerning the production of renewable energy for example here. And Camhoun enjoys a wide diversity of climates and terrains from coastline to mountains. That gives us the possibility to produce a lot of energy. There needs to be just a giant amount of solar power and with a smart grid and energy storage. And then you could have clean energy. Yeah, absolutely. And some countries need to come and invest and make sure it's in support for this project. And it could happen very quickly, no? It can happen very quickly. Very quickly. If we have the necessary investment, we are going to be having full of energy in Camhoun and full of clean energy. Right? And here it's committed to increase the contribution of renewable energy. Yeah. And this is a mask? Yeah, this is also a mask. Yeah. So how many local dialects are there? Local dialects, I was talking about almost 240 local dialects. And they all sound completely different? Yes, that matches with the trends. That matches with ethnic groups also. Completely different, yeah. All of them? Yeah, completely different. It's true that we have some groups, some communities where inside we have languages that are a little bit similar. But on the whole, we have more than 230, almost 240 local language, local tongues. And does everybody have access to internet? With SIM cards, is it working everywhere? Or it needs a lot more progress for this? More and more, the population has access to internet, more and more. It depends also on the capacity of people to... Is that easy in a village, right? Yes, because all the entire country is covered now by the network. And we have many operators in Camun, in the sector, in the field of, let's say, mobile telephone and digital. So people are getting more and more informed about what is happening over the world because of this access to internet. And how is the business with tourism? Is it important for Camun to have tourists come? Absolutely. Camun is developing its sector of tourism nowadays. We have more and more hotels, restaurants, and we have so much nice sights to visit. Yeah, we have many parks, we have a lot of reserves also, like Reserve Jujja. We have Gorillas Reserve in the south of Camun. Yes, Gorillas Reserve in the south of Camun. And it's very important to preserve them and give them a space to let them live in their natural environment. We are doing it and we have a lot of parks. Also we have a reserve, Reserve Jujja. Reserve Jujja is classified as a UNESCO site that is protected by the United Nations. And now we have this little shop showcasing the agricultural products of Camun. We have coffee. How does Camun coffee taste? Camun coffee is so nice. One of the best? One of the best in Africa, Camun coffee. If you taste Camun coffee, you won't be able to drink something else. I can assure you. We have also cocoa. We have started producing our chocolate, and you can see how far the variety of this process is going. All right, and it's a good place to invest because the economy is growing. Camun is a good place to invest, not only in terms of economy, but first in terms of geographical location. Camun is located at the heart, at the center of Africa, at the bottom of the Gulf of Guinea. And we are surrounded by at least six or seven countries. We have in our back Nigeria with a market of more than 200 million population. And we have also all the countries of Samark. And Camun is supplying some countries in the hinterland, like Chad. Chad doesn't have any access to the sea. So Camun is supplying Chad, and Camun is also supplying the Central African Republic. So you see the importance of Camun at the heart of East and West Africa. Camun is a passage, a strategical passage in the Gulf of Guinea. It's between the East African and West African side. But also it's great for an investor to invest in a country with a future growth potential. So maybe this is a century of Africa, right? First of all, a stable country. First of all, a stable country. Politically, a stable country in terms of, let's say, the security, right? The security of investment and the incentive that the government is putting in place for the investors. So Camun is a very good risk in terms of investment. That is how you see many investors now rushing to Camun. And flight connections, there's direct flights from Paris, but other places in Europe? Yes, we have direct flights of many companies from Europe to Camun. Qatar Airways, maybe? Not yet Qatar Airways. We are working with Emirates because we signed an agreement with UAE last year. The Minister of Transport from Camun came here and signed an agreement. Let's say, how to call it, agreement on the domain of air flight. So air flight agreement. And we hope that very soon we are going to be having direct flights between Camun and Dubai, for example, to enhance the activities. That would be fantastic because people can easily fly, stop in Dubai and continue to Camun. Continue to Camun. From all over Europe, Asia, everywhere. And you know that Camun, according to this strategical point, if you supply Camun, you are able to supply many countries surrounded Camun in Central Africa also. So it's a very strategical point. Maybe there's incentives also for the investment in terms of taxes or how it works when foreign companies come and invest? Absolutely, absolutely. I was talking about this incentive, these incentive measures. Like we have also in Camun certain reasons that encourage people to come and invest, encourage foreign investors to come and settle and start their business during a certain period without paying any taxes. These are the measures the government has put in place to enhance, to promote the investment in Camun. And this is what you talk about here at the Expo. Absolutely. People from all over the world coming here and you talk about this. We are receiving many people here who are very interested in Camun. They want to know what is Camun, not only in terms of football, but also in terms of a country, a developing country that has a lot of potentials, a lot of opportunities. Everybody is welcome, every passport, the whole world. Absolutely. You just get on the border, stamp and you come in. I am the deputy council general of Camun in a new way. I deliver myself many visas every day. So we don't refuse visas to people who want to go to Camun. Mostly the investors. They are welcome and they can go to Camun each time they want. The climate is good, people are welcoming. Everything is nice in Camun. So, I am waiting for you in Camun. Thank you so much.