(Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian Head of State, Paul Biya, will carry out a state visit in Italy from 20 to 22 March 2017, at the invitation of his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, as announced by a press release from the Secretary General of the Office of the President, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh. This State visit comes almost a year, to the day, after the visit of Sergio Mattarella in Cameroon, from 16 to 20 March 2016.

A visit marked by an economic forum, during which the Cameroonian government and the Italian company Pizarrotti signed a contract worth Fcfa 115 billion for the financing and construction of 10,000 low-cost housing units and an industrial area for the manufacture of pre-fabricated construction materials. Other similar contracts could be awarded during the Italian visit of the Cameroonian Head of State.

Incidentally, this visit by President Biya in Italy would help, above all, to strengthen the economic cooperation between the Italian Republic (9^th supplier of Cameroon and its 8^th client) and Cameroon. Based on information from the Office of the President, Italy has approximately 50 companies in Cameroon. These companies employ over 2,000 people in the logging, wood processing and food industry sectors.

BRM