By Nick Butler

Spanish Olympic Committee chief Alejandro Blanco (right) meeting Olympic Committee of Cameroon counterpart, Colonel Hamad Kalkaba Malboum ©COEAlejandro Blanco and Colonel Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, Presidents of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) and the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSC) respectively, have signed a cooperation agreement in Madrid. 


The agreement should open the way for "the implementation of initiatives aiming at the development of Olympism in both countries", particularly involving as-of-yet unspecified projects "common to both entities". 

In a special signing event at the COE headquarters in the Spanish capital, COE secretary general Víctor Sánchez was also among those present. 

For Spain the agreement marks the latest in a broad aim to reach out to other countries, following a landmark partnership announced earlier this month with the Minister of the National Defence of Uruguay facilitating training of the South American country's Armed Forces.

This latest pact also has a military link, as, in addition to his CNOSC role, Malboum was President of the International Military Sports Council until May this year, and remains a member of the ruling Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations.

For the CNOSC, it will be hoped that working with a European NOC will generate improvement in a sporting sense, as the African nation seek to improve upon their all-time Olympic haul of five medals.

The most recent of these came at Beijing 2008 when Françoise Mbango Etone won gold in the women's triple jump, successfully defending the title she first won four years previously in Athens.

Cameroon's first gold medal had come at Sydney 2000 when their men's football team defeated Spain in the final, winning 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Two of the men who scored that day have gone on to become two of the biggest names in the game over the last 14 years, four-time African Player of the Year Samuel Eto'o and his former Barcelona team-mate, 2010 FIFA World Cup winner, Xavi.

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