YAOUNDE, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Thursday signed an agreement on funding the railway line between Belabo and Ngaoundere in the eastern part of the Central African nation.

Vice President of the EIB Thomas Ostros began a working visit in Cameroon Thursday, hoping to explore further avenues of economic cooperation between the EU and the Central African nation. During his stay, Ostros met with the country's Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute and other senior government officials in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, and discussed the prospects for increasing investment.

It is believed that the signing of the agreement during his visit will involve an investment of 80 billion XAF (about 129 million U.S. dollars).

"We see this as a ground-breaking project. It is about connecting people but also for business and job opportunities. It fits also with our ambition to invest in sustainable transport. Actually, the biggest investment that we have made in sustainable transport in Sub-Saharan Africa ever," Ostros, who signed on behalf of the EIB, told reporters in Yaounde.

Alamine Ousmane Mey, the minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, who signed on behalf of the Cameroonian government, expressed confidence that European investors would increasingly look at the favorable opportunities available in the country in the context of the positive steps taken by the government to create an investor friendly climate.

"This cooperation has led to a portfolio of projects amounting to roughly 880 million euros. This has made it possible to cover priority areas such as infrastructure, energy, industrial development and agriculture. This certainly is going to help Cameroon accelerate its development process," Mey said. Enditem

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