Turkey to build vocational training center in Cameroon

ANKARA

Turkey will build a vocational training center complex in Cameroonian capital Yaounde, according to National Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz Wednesday.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the National Education Ministry will establish the center of excellence in vocational training, including clothing production and construction technology centers.

Yilmaz and Cameroonian Minister of Employment and Vocational Training Zacharie Perevet also signed an agreement on "Technology Transfer Implementation Protocol in Vocational Education" in Ankara.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Yilmaz said Turkey wants to develop its ties with Cameroon in all fields.

"Vocational training centers in the field of clothing production and construction technology will be established, and together with Cameroon training programs for teachers and students will be developed," he said.

"In-service trainings will be for Cameroonian teachers in Turkey; laboratories and workshops related to vocational training centers will be equipped," he said.

Businessmen who want to invest in the vocational training centers will be provided with guidance and counseling services, Yilmaz added.

"We think that when vocational training institutions in Cameroon get implemented together with TIKA and start to work, other African countries will see this project as an example and demand from Turkey similar project in other African countries," he said.

The Cameroonian minister said ties between the two countries were based on friendship.

Perevet said the Cameroonian government had allocated two hectares of land in the capital for the implementation of the project.

“With this important protocol, Turkey shows it is ready to support education in Cameroon,” he said.

Reporting by Selma Kasap:Writing by Meryem Goktas