Cameroon-Germany: Economic Cooperation Discussed

#Economie

The discussions took place in Yaounde on Friday December 28.

The Bantu Development Initiative, an association of Cameroonians living in Germany, has organised a business lunch in Yaounde to encourage partnerships between Cameroonian and German businessmen. The dinner on Friday December 28 brought together local entrepreneurs and others from Germany and was animated by talks from officials of the Bantu Development Initiative and representatives of the German embassy in Yaounde and the African Union.

The Secretary General of the association said the business dinner organised within the framework of the association’s project dubbed, ‘Synergies Germano-Camerounaises’ (SYGERCAM) is organised periodically in Germany and in Cameroon in order to inform businessmen in both countries that there are investment opportunities they could take advantage of.

He said besides trying to encourage foreign investment, they also encourage Cameroonians in the Diaspora to exploit investment opportunities back home, especially in sectors like agriculture, livestock and textiles among others. “Among 1,000 German companies operating out of the country, only 100 are present on the African Continent. We want some of these companies to also identify investment opportunities here,” he said.

The representative of the German Ambassador to Cameroon on his part said bilateral cooperation between both countries is great but regretted that much has not been achieved in terms of economic cooperation. While disclosing that his country is developing an economic initiative for Africa, he said German companies are also getting interested in Cameroon. Nine of them will be taking part in the PROMOTE 2019 trade expo in Yaounde, he said.

One of the difficulties in cooperation between German and Cameroonian businessmen discussed at the business lunch was differences in ideologies and ways of doing things. It was suggested that many events like the dinner or trade fairs should be organised to facilitate exchanges between businesses and governments of both countries so that they can get to understand their differences and overcome investment challenges.

Caroline Ngo Mbamseck Bayiha, representative of the African Union, on her part, enjoined Cameroonians to wipe out tribalism, corruption, nepotism, administrative bottlenecks and other ills that discourage foreign and local investors. SYGERCAM is supported by the government of Cameroon, the EU Commission, and President Theodore Obiang Nguema Mbazogo Mandeng of Equatorial Guinea,s among others

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