President Paul Biya signed a decree on January 29, ratifying a mutual visa exemption agreement with Algeria for holders of diplomatic and service passports. The agreement was signed on December 21, 2024, in Algiers. Under the deal, eligible passport holders from both countries can now enter the other without a prior visa.

With this ratification, Algeria becomes Cameroon’s third North African partner to grant such exemptions, after Egypt, under a decree dated December 29, 2023, and Tunisia, ratified on April 25, 2025. Addressing lawmakers in November 2025, Foreign Affairs Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella presented the agreement as a diplomatic facilitation tool, saying it should ease high-level engagements and help deepen political and economic exchanges between Yaoundé and Algiers.

Bilateral relations between the two countries date back several decades and are underpinned by a series of cooperation agreements across multiple sectors. In recent years, momentum has picked up. An air services agreement signed in Yaoundé in February 2021 and ratified in August 2023 enabled Air Algérie to launch its first routes to Douala. In May 2023, another agreement covering transport and meteorology strengthened technical cooperation and exchanges of expertise.

Consolidating cooperation

On the security front, a defense agreement signed in Algiers on July 31, 2022, and ratified by Paul Biya in August 2023, stands out as a key milestone. Valid for ten years and renewable, it covers military training, intelligence sharing, and counterterrorism cooperation, against a backdrop of persistent security threats in the Sahel and Central Africa. Cooperation was further reinforced in January 2023 with the creation of a Cameroonian military mission attached to the country’s embassy in Algeria, with additional responsibility for Spain and Portugal.

Economically, the relationship remains underdeveloped despite recent signals. In January 2023, the two countries set up an Algeria–Cameroon Business Council to encourage investment and joint ventures. Trade flows, however, remain modest. In 2023, Algeria ranked as Cameroon’s 10th African customer, with exports totaling CFA7.7 billion, representing about 2% market share. A shift emerged on July 5, 2024, when Cameroon exported its first aluminum ingots to Algeria under the African Continental Free Trade Area, described as the first containerized shipment of Cameroonian goods to Algeria under the framework.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has also reiterated his commitment to strengthening ties. In a letter sent to Paul Biya on October 28, 2025, following his re-election, he stressed Algeria’s readiness to “continue working to strengthen the historic bonds of fraternity and solidarity” and to deepen cooperation between the two countries “in the best interests of both.” The visa exemption for diplomatic and service passports thus adds to a growing set of bilateral instruments spanning political, security, and economic cooperation.

Source: Business in Cameroon