An important consultation between MINEPAT and the private sector took place on Thursday, 30 March 2023 at the Krystal Palace Hotel in Douala, under the chairmanship of Paul Tasong, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, in charge of Planning.

These meetings, which facilitated dialogue between the private sector stakeholders and senior officials of the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, were well attended by Technical and Financial Partners, employers’ organisations, business leaders and representatives of several public administrations. The aim of this meeting was to identify, by consensus, the levers to be used in order to promote an optimal contribution of the private sector in the achievement of the objectives of structural transformation of the Cameroonian economy, as envisaged by the National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (NDS 30). Specifically, the meeting made it possible to present to the “wealth creators” the Government’s strategic orientations pertaining to the import-substitution policy; assess the state of some strategic sectors; identify priority measures that should enable the operators of these sectors to strengthen their contribution to the reduction of Cameroon’s reliance on exportations, and speed up the domestic processing of local products.

While opening the meeting, the Minister Delegate to the MINEPAT emphasised the central place given to the private sector in the achievement of the objectives defined by the NDS30. He hailed the sector’s resilience in a context where Cameroon’s economy continues to be impacted by Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Paul Tasong reiterated the good faith of the Government which, in its logic of strategic and pragmatic State, intends to increase its interventions in favour of the national private sector, to take up the challenge of the successful implementation of the import-substitution/export promotion mix policy.

The Douala consultation was centred on plenary discussions fed by presentations on cross-cutting concerns such as taxation, land tenure and funding. Thematic workshops were also held on the diagnosis of the rice, fish, milk, palm oil, wood, steel and local flour sectors. The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Handicrafts, Christophe Eken, welcomed the initiative taken by MINEPAT, while expressing the wish to see the meeting outcomes implemented.