Cameroon–United States relations
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cameroon–United States relations are international relations between
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and the United States.


History


Before independence

A U.S. presence in Cameroon predated the independence of French Cameroon in 1960. Since the nineteenth century, Cameroon had attracted American missionaries, some of whom – among them the
American Presbyterian Mission Presbyterian Mission Agency is the ministry and mission agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Founded as the Western Foreign Missionary Society by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1837, it was involved in sending w ...
and the
American Baptist Mission International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The so ...
– were influential in establishing education infrastructure in the country. More proximately, the U.S. had established a diplomatic post in Yaoundé in July 1957, with Walter Cutler at the helm. At that stage, the imminence of Cameroonian independence was apparent, and the U.S. sought to position itself for the French withdrawal, counting among its concerns the
containment Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term ''cordon sanitaire'', which was ...
of
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
expansion and therefore wishing to monitor the activities of the
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( - UPC) is a political party in Cameroon. Foundation The UPC was founded on 10 April 1948, at a meeting in the bar ''Chez Sierra'' in Bassa. Twelve men assisted the founding meeting, including Charles Assal ...
(UPC), a communist civil insurgency. In 1959, the Yaoundé liaison was upgraded to a consulate general, and
Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first List of Presidents of Cameroon, President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's inde ...
, independent Cameroon's presumptive leader, visited U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, while on a trip to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN)
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
to muster international support for Cameroonian independence.


Presidency of Ahmadou Ahidjo (1960–1982)

When French Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroon in early 1960, it established formal diplomatic relations with the U.S. In 1961, the U.S. upgraded the Yaoundé consulate to an embassy, later with an outpost in Douala, while Cameroon established an embassy in Washington, D.C. and a permanent mission to the UN in New York. Early bilateral relations, however, were strained: the U.S. declined to support Cameroon's objections to the union of British-administered Northern Cameroons with the new Republic of Nigeria; and Cameroon was offended by the U.S.'s request that it recall its ambassador, Raymond Aimé-N’Thepe, because he was an "anti-white racist" and had "threatened a fencing contractor with a gun". However, in January 1961, Cameroonian President Ahidjo wrote to congratulate
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
on his inauguration as U.S. President, expressing hopes for a stronger bilateral relationship, and relations improved considerably after Kennedy received Ahidjo on a five-day official visit in March 1962. In July the next year, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,
Mennen Williams Gerhard Mennen "Soapy" Williams (February 23, 1911 – February 2, 1988) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Michigan, elected in 1948 and serving six two-year terms in office. He later served as Assistant Secreta ...
, visited Cameroon to reaffirm the countries' "positive relations". Between 1962 and 1967, Ahidjo visited the U.S. five times, and further visits followed, including in 1969 and 1971. Over the course of his presidency, he was received not only by Kennedy but also by four of his successors, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson,
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
,
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
, and
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. Kennedy had hoped not to surpass but to compete with French influence in Africa – and not only in Cameroon itself: because of its geographical location and
bilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
, Cameroon provided a "gateway" to other Central African countries. More practically, during certain periods (1970–1981, and later 1995–2006), the U.S. used Yaoundé as a base for monitoring its interests in Equatorial Guinea. Expanding U.S. influence in Africa was also viewed as a tactic for communist containment and security cooperation in the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, and Ahidjo played up this dimension, alerting Kennedy, during their 1962 meeting, to the subversive communist threat posed by UPC in Cameroon. Ahidjo, for his part, sought to diversify Cameroon's foreign relations, reducing its economic and political dependence on France, its former colonial power: Cameroon was studiously non-aligned in the Cold War, but its strong orientation towards France was apparent, and was occasionally restrictive. Ahidjo was particularly interested in the economic assistance that the U.S. could offer. Indeed, between 1963 and 1984, American aid to Cameroon amounted to $278.6 million, and was concentrated in infrastructure development, particularly transport infrastructure, and in agriculture. In addition, soon after independence, Cameroon had requested
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
assistance with teaching and training in its underdeveloped
education sector Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...
. Just two years after the arrival of the first contingent of volunteers in September 1962, in 1964, the Peace Corps's 77 volunteers in West Cameroon made up 30 per cent of the region's secondary teaching personnel. The Peace Corps presence created goodwill towards the U.S. among Cameroonian communities. Kennedy himself, even after his death, was also popular: Cameroonian historian Julius Amin said schools, streets, and children were named after Kennedy, and, "Many hung, in their living rooms, the picture of John Kennedy besides those of important family members." Moreover – although the U.S. located its cultural agencies in Francophone Douala, prioritising political advances with Francophone Africans – even the presence of USAID had symbolic importance for Anglophone Cameroonians, for whom
U.S. Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bil ...
offices became an "important cultural centre" as a counterpoint to French cultural domination. Despite these initiatives, in the 1970s, American aid and trade remained "pathetically minuscule", in both cases dwarfed by the French contribution – between 1966 and 1974, American trade never exceeded 5 per cent of Cameroonian imports or exports. In the 1960s – and afterwards – Cameroonian exports to the U.S. were dominated by raw materials, including petroleum products, cocoa, timber, and rubber.


Presidency of Paul Biya (1982–present)

However, Cameroon–U.S. economic relations were at their highest ever level in 1982, when Ahidjo was replaced by his prime minister, Paul Biya. Between 1982 and 1984, the U.S. overtook France as Cameroon's foremost export market, primarily due to its consumption of Cameroonian oil. Biya pursued a diversification of Cameroonian foreign relations still more vigorously than Ahidjo had, describing his foreign policy in such terms as "diplomacy of development", "co-operation without frontiers", and "open door" diplomacy.


Security cooperation

From around 2013, bilateral relations increasingly emphasised joint counterterrorism actions against
Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
and
Islamic State in West Africa Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...
, alongside other regional security initiatives, especially in the
Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...
. Between 2015 and 2020, about 300 U.S. military personnel were deployed in northern Cameroon to conduct regional
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...
.


Human rights concerns and sanctions

According to former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Johnnie Carson Johnnie Carson (born April 7, 1943) is a diplomat from the United States who has served as United States Ambassador to several African nations. In 2009 he was nominated to become U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs by Presid ...
, before 2012 – and before the increased emphasis on regional counterterrorism – the U.S.'s Cameroon policy focused on "finding ways to influence the Cameroonian government to adopt political reforms". Over the last five years, increased reports of human rights abuses in Cameroon have revived American interest, and especially congressional interest, in such reforms. The most prominent concern is the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon, and the concern that Biya's administration may be diverting U.S. security assistance to support a repressive state response. In February 2019, the U.S. cut military aid to Cameroon by about $17 million in response to video footage of military atrocities against civilians, although U.S. Ambassador
Peter Barlerin Peter Henry Barlerin is an American diplomat and career member of the Senior Foreign Service who served as the United States Ambassador to Cameroon from 2017 to 2020. He has served as an American diplomat since 1989. Prior to becoming an ambassa ...
said that relations between the countries nevertheless remained "excellent". In October, and citing similar human rights concerns, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
terminated Cameroon's eligibility for preferential trade benefits under the
African Growth and Opportunity Act The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA (Title I, Trade and Development Act of 2000; P.L. 106–200) is a piece of legislation that was approved by the U.S. Congress in May 2000. The stated purpose of this legislation is to assist the ...
. The following year, the
U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
designated Cameroon under the
Child Soldiers Prevention Act The Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) is a United States federal statute signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 23, 2008, as part of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. The law cri ...
for its recruitment and use of child soldiers – though the Trump administration waived the legal implications for Cameroon's security assistance eligibility, and Cameroon was de-designated in 2021. Most recently, in June 2021, the administration of President Joe Biden announced that it would impose visa restrictions on individuals believed to be obstructing the peaceful resolution of the Anglophone Crisis.


Current relations

The relations are close, although they have sometimes been affected by concerns over human rights abuses and the pace of political and economic liberalization. The bilateral United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program in Cameroon closed for budgetary reasons in 1994. However, approximately 140
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
volunteers continue to work successfully in
agroforestry Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...
, community development, education, and health. The Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé 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 United States 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 The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and other multilateral organizations. While in the United Nations Security Council in 2002, Cameroon worked closely with the United States on initiatives. The U.S. Government continues to provide substantial funding for international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and African Development Bank, that provide financial and other assistance to Cameroon.


Diplomatic missions

The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon is in Yaoundé.


2015 American military intervention

In October 2015 the US began committing troops to the
American military intervention in Cameroon The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing iss ...
.


See also

*
Foreign relations of Cameroon Cameroon's noncontentious, low-profile approach to foreign relations puts it squarely in the middle of other African and developing country states on major issues. It supports the principles of non-interference in the affairs of third world co ...
* Foreign relations of the United States


References


Further reading

* Agbor-Tabi, Peter (1984).
U.S. Bilateral Assistance in Africa: The Case of Cameroon
'. University Press of America. .


External links


Video of Ahidjo's 1962 visit to Washington, D.C.

History of Cameroon–U.S. relations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameroon-United States relations Bilateral relations of the United States United States