Douala, Cameroon Africa. January 2011 (Cameroon News) - Cameroon, South Africa convene working sessions in Yaounde to discuss trade ties.

Delegates from the business communities of both countries held discussion sessions in the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde on Wednesday to find out methods and means of rectifying the imbalances seen in trade relationships between both the countries.
The trade tied between Cameroon and South Africa has been indicating a sharp decline ever since 2005 owing to major imbalances.

The trade imbalances had created trade deficits to the tune of FCFA 58 billion which is a representative figure of the amount that Cameroon imports from South Africa which is pretty hefty when compared with the figure that represents the country’s exports to South Africa which just comes to a petty FCFA 1 billion, further indicating that Cameroon is losing out more or less from the trade imbalance.

Moreover, statistics reveal that close to 100 South African companies import from Cameroon while not even 20 Cameroonian companies export to South Africa.
The bilateral discussions between the business delegates of the two countries were carried out in order to remedy the trade imbalance that has been revealed in these numbers.

The working sessions were convened on Wednesday, January 26 2011, in Yaounde and came under the framework of a South African economic mission to Cameroon.

After having formally announced that the discussions were to be commenced, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Yaouba Abdoulaye stated that the trade relationships between both the countries have improved ever since the ties were given a legal foundation on September 22, 2006.

He called upon the business owners and entrepreneurs from both the countries to come forward to exert their presence in the varied domains of operations.

He asked the delegation from South Africa to demonstrate their cooperation with Cameroon by contributing positively to the vision of Cameroon to move out to various sectors beyond the usual and to put their words into actions that will work towards improving the foreign direct investments in the country.

“The consultations that we are beginning today are of great importance in the building of a win-win economic partnership between Cameroon and South Africa,” he underlined.

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of South Africa, Elisabeth Thabathe also voiced a similar message and was regretful of the fact that the volumes of trade between the two countries being despicably low to the point of turning into an embarrassing situation for both countries in spite of the adept strategies being deployed by experts in the Southern African and Central African sub-regions respectively.

“The future of business in Africa lies in cooperation between our countries,” she emphasized.

The economic mission, she further said, was basically aimed at finding out mutually beneficial sectors which will typically work towards improving bilateral trade especially with ample focus of sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, energy and manufacturing industries.

After the inaugural ceremony, the delegates from both countries were divided into five working groups that aimed at keying in on governmental projects; infrastructure and construction; clothing and textiles; oil, gas and financial services; and agro-industry and transport.

The South African economic mission is being taken up as a sequel to the economic mission to South Africa by a representation of businessmen spearheaded by the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Louis Paul Motaze from October 23 to November 2, 2010.

Since they have come to Cameroon on January 22, 2011, the South African delegation has convened numerous talks and seminars with businessmen and some state corporations in Douala and Limbe.

In the midst of working sessions, the businessmen will today continue meeting with officials holding high level posts in various government departments such as the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development.