4 August 2007… The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development of Cameroon held a ceremony on August 2nd, in Douala city, on the occasion of receiving a shipment of food aid from the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa - EFTCA (around 160 tons of rice and flour). The celebration was attended by the Governor of the coast province, a number of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as a representative from the Foreign Ministry of Cameroon, media, and television. The Egyptian Ambassador to Cameroon delivered a speech at the beginning of the ceremony, in which he noted that the aid presented by EFTCA constitutes a message of solidarity from the Egyptian people to the Cameroonian brotherly people, to assist them in confronting the impacts of drought and climate change that all Africa suffers from. It also represents only one example of the various activities of the fund in different fields, especially agriculture, which benefits most from the Egyptian expertise and training courses that are offered annually to Cameroon. In his lengthy speech, the Cameroonian Minister of State voiced his deep appreciation to the Egyptian side, on behalf of the Cameroonian Government, for the aid offered by the Egyptian people through EFTCA, and affirmed that this aid will be dedicated to the northern regions which suffer from drought and food shortage. The Cameroonian Minister also outlined the aspects of distinguished cooperation with Egypt in the field of agriculture which dates back to several years. He also praised the role of the Egyptian experts who worked within the framework of trilateral cooperation between Egypt, Cameroon and FAO, as well as the training courses offered by the fund annually to Cameroon. The minister also requested to convey his deep appreciation and gratitude to the Egyptian Government and EFTCA.