(Business in Cameroon) - In preparation for the conference of the national and regional Authorising officers of the European Development Fund (EDF) in the Central Africa region, scheduled for 6 and 7 April 2017 in Yaoundé, a preparatory meeting of experts from the Member States of the Economic Community CEMAC, EU and the Secretariat of the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) was held on April 4 in the Cameroonian capital.

This preparatory meeting, highlighted Charles Assamba, managing director of Cooperation and Regional Integration in the Cameroonian Ministry of Economy, aims to prepare, based on technical discussions, the dossiers to be submitted for decisions and resolutions of the national and regional authorising officers. Specifically, the participants will reflect on the mechanisms and appropriate tools to consolidate and intensify the efforts of the 11^th EDF in its different components of intervention, both at the national and regional level.

The issues on the table: the review of implementation of national indicative programmes and the regional indicative programme, and the examination of the new European consensus on the development of ACP states; putting the accent on the promotion of a dynamic private sector and the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. This meeting also allowed several problems undermining ACP states to be tackled, especially, stability and the fight against the root causes of illegal migration and the phenomenon of displaced persons.

For his part, Henrique Banze, Assistant Secretary General of the Group of ACP states, pleaded above all for the strengthening in the coherence and complementarity between the national indicative programmes and that of the regional programme. This in the interest of development of the Central African region. As a reminder, the financing agreement of the indicative regional programme of Central Africa relating to the 11th EDF was signed in June 2015 in Brussels (Belgium). For an overall total amount of  350 million euros (FCfa 229.25 billion), this Fund which prioritises basic infrastructure, is structured around three main components. Namely, political integration and cooperation in matters of peace and security; economic and commercial integration. As well as sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity.

S.A