Biya raises outgoing Israeli Ambassador to rank of Grand Officer.

Ambassador Kalmar was elevated to the prestigious rank during a ceremony held in Yaounde.

The Israeli Embassy in an outing on Facebook, said: “It was with great pleasure and joy that Ambassador Kalmar received this honor, which attests to the outstanding work accomplished by the Israeli Embassy in Cameroon to strengthen cooperation and friendship between our two peoples”.

Ambassador Amnon Kalmar began his diplomatic mission to Cameroon in November 2024 following the death of then Ambassador Isi Yanouka who died in office in April 2023.

The veteran diplomat entered began his diplomatic career 35 years ago. Amnon Kalmar before serving in Cameroon, was previously assigned as a Regional Ambassador for administrative and Consular affairs in the Asia and Pacific region, based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kalmar also served as a Senior Chief Administrative Officer at the Consulate General and the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations.

Before becoming Ambassador, Kalmar served over the years as a consul at the Israeli Embassies in Sweden, Denmark and Thailand.

At the Israeli Foreign Ministry headquarter in Jerusalem, he served as the Control Center Manager and later served as the director of the Foreign Affairs Cadet Course.

During his period there, Kalmar executed projects on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including managing the project to vaccinate against COVID-19 all Israeli employees in overseas missions and establishment and operation of a field hospital in Ukraine.

Kalmar was awarded the title of Outstanding Employee by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his work for those projects.

Kalmar is holder of a B.Ed & M.Ed- Masters of degree in education for the disabled and handicapped. from the Academic Institute of Education, Israel.

Meanwhile, Cameroon and the State of Israel, it should be said, have maintained cooperation ties since Cameroon's independence in 1960.

Cooperation was temporarily deferred from 1973 upon the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, when many African countries suspended bilateral relations with the State of Israel. 

In 1986, Cameroon was amongst one of the first African countries that renewed diplomatic relations with Israel.

In more than half a century, since both countries achieved independence, Cameroon has developed a promising economy around agriculture while Israel has invested in education to develop a strong Hi-Tech culture and industrialization. 

Moreover, Cameroon's desire to diversify its economy serves a priceless opportunity for further cooperation. 

The ground is fertile for such cooperation: the basic infrastructure necessary for the development of a diversified economy is booming, the population, especially youths, are keen on technology, and several solutions have already emerged and that have put Cameroon on the map of reference countries in Central Africa.

Israel and Cameroon share a long history of excellent bilateral relations, and cooperation in the fields of agriculture, health, education and cultural exchanges; and although it is difficult to make an excellent relationship better, there is a lot of potential for both parties to reinforce the content of their cooperation through knowledge sharing in various field such as Education where Israel has already contributed significantly.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3913 of Friday September 18, 2026