(Business in Cameroon) - Today January 14, 2021, Cameroonian economic operators are scheduled to meet, in Douala, for a conference on the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Initiated by the Ministry of Trade, this conference organized with the assistance of the UNECA’s regional office aims to provide “operators with tips for a successful operationalization of the AfCFTA,” official sources indicate.  

In the invitation sent to its members, the national Chamber of Commerce reveals that during this meeting, participants will receive "essential information” that will help them understand the agreement,  “the instruments for the operationalization of the AfCFTA, the commercial documents required and the support mechanisms set up by public authorities."

As a reminder, the AfCFTA (which came into force on January 1, 2021) aims to boost intra-African trade. It, therefore, opens a large market of about 1.2 billion consumers to economic operators on the continent.

In Cameroon, despite the lack of competitiveness of many local products, the government plans to create an export promotion agency to help local operators benefit from the opportunity, Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana revealed on June 25, 2020, during an audience with Antonio Pedro (director of the UNECA’s regional office).

BRM