Egyptian-Cameroon Business Forum kicked off on Tuesday, with the participation of 65 businesspeople representing 42 Egyptian companies, in addition to a large number of businesspeople from Cameroon.
Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said that the forum coincides with the launch of the Egypt-West and Central Africa Business Bridge Forum.
The forum aims to reach 22 countries in Central and West Africa, in cooperation with the Attijariwafa Bank.
The minister noted that, in 2020, the trade exchange between Egypt and Cameroon amounted to about $43m, reflecting a growth rate of 6% compared to 2019.
She pointed out that there are significant opportunities for Egyptian exports to enter the Cameroonian market, particularly from: food industries; engineering goods; agricultural crops; construction and contracting; engineering consultancy; information systems; and communication technology.
For his part, Cameroon’s Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana stressed his country’s keenness to transfer expertise and advanced technologies from North African countries to the western and central regions of the continent.
Atangana also noted the importance of attracting Egyptian investors to launch projects to develop and rehabilitate infrastructure, energy and renewable energy projects. This would also focus on building new city projects in Cameroon.
The minister added that Cameroon is characterised by the availability of qualified manpower to attract regional and global investments.
For his part, Abdel Aziz Al Sharif, head of the Africa Department at the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS), disclosed that West African markets constitute a promising area for Egyptian products. This is particularly in the absence of preferential trade agreements linking Egypt with West African countries so far.
Al Sharif added that this initiative comes as part of the ECS’s endeavour to launch non-traditional initiatives aimed at increasing the volume of Egyptian exports to Africa.
