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Senior dignitaries at the Cameroon Investment Forum in Dubai on Thursday.
Sajjad Ahmed, Deputy Business Editor
Investors from the United Arab Emirates and Cameroon gathered in Dubai on Thursday to explore ways to strengthen business ties, investment opportunities and discuss the prospect of signing mutually beneficial partnership agreements.
Viable business and investment opportunities were discussed in depth during the “Cameroon Investment Week” investment forum held at the Jafza 1 Convention Center in the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
To facilitate discussions, the event brought together key prominent stakeholders including: Jean Claude AYEM MOGER, Technical Advisor to the President of the Republic of Cameroon on Economic Affairs; Abdullah Saleh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry, UAE Ministry of Economy; Iya Tidjan, Ambassador, Cameroon Embassy in Saudi Arabia; Ms. Marthe Angéline MINJA, General Manager, Cameroon Investment Promotion Agency.
The event was also attended by several top CEOs, managers of local government and private economic entities, and representatives of the Cameroonian business community. Abdulla Al Saleh said, “Non-oil trade between the UAE and Cameroon reached US$406 million in the first nine months of 2020, an increase of more than 5 percent compared to the same period in 2021.”
He added, “This forum is the perfect platform to explore new avenues of cooperation between the two countries.”
The investment forum featured interesting panel discussions on Cameroon’s business environment and investment opportunities in strategic sectors such as oil, ports, aviation, power and decentralization.
During the event, UAE and Cameroonian institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create an attractive environment for Emirati companies willing to invest in Cameroon, encourage the exchange of trade missions, and facilitate the exchange of information between the two parties. The MoU was signed at:
Cameroon and UAE International Investor Council Investment Promotion Agency, Cameroon and UAE Trade Center Investment Promotion Agency, Cameroon Joint Commission and UAE Trade Center, Miller & Associates and UAE Trade Center, and Cameroon Investment Promotion Agency and XFusion.
Mrs. Marthe Angeline MINJA, General Manager of Cameroon Investment Promotion Agency, said on this occasion: “Cameroon, the microcosm of Africa, will not leave empty-handed to participate in this mutually beneficial forum. In fact, it is rich in assets, which makes it attractive”
Walid Hareb AlFalahi, CEO of Dubai Consulting and Emirates Trade Centre, said: “Cameroon is an ambitious emerging economy and it is clear that there is a lot of room for expansion in bilateral trade between the UAE and Cameroon, which will prioritize investment inflows. areas such as renewable energy, technology and logistics. UTC has been playing a key role in driving investment in key sectors in Africa and we look forward to playing a key role in driving investment in Cameroon and further strengthening the relationship between the UAE and Cameroon. relation.”
The focus of this gathering is to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), which is generally characterized by huge investment projects, high employment creation rate, significant contribution to infrastructure development and technology transfer, and support for the value addition of local resources. Therefore, the event To be a platform to ensure the attraction of sustainable foreign direct investment to accelerate the achievement of Cameroon’s development goals.
In its 2022 investment report, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ranked the UAE as the 17th country in the world and the number 1 Arab country in the world, with total FDI outflows of US$22.5 billion in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 19% to their 2020 record, which clearly demonstrates the growing interest of UAE entities to invest in foreign markets and the positive impact these entities derive from OFDI. According to a 2021 report and survey commissioned by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, sectors such as fintech, agriculture, healthtech and e-commerce show great potential in African markets, provided companies can secure the necessary investments to address challenges such as weak digital infrastructure, limited public facilities and unfamiliar regulations. The same survey by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce found that among business leaders in Africa, fintech is expected to see the greatest growth in 2022 – a whopping 89 percent, followed by agriculture and food processing at 89 percent and 87 percent respectively. These figures demonstrate Africa’s status as an attractive investment destination, with the potential to generate higher investment returns in the long run.
The Investment Forum therefore forms part of the commitment to ensure the continuity of UAE-Cameroon business relations.
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