Strong Deployment To Attract Investors

Targeting investors and building other useful partnerships with China have been some key concerns during President Paul Biya’s stay in Beijing. And taking into consideration President Xi Jinping’s view that the 4th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Conference (FOCAC 2024) is a time of harvest, the perception for Cameroon was certainly not different. Most indicators point to a rosy state of relations between China and Cameroon, like other African countries that honoured the Beijing rendez-vous from 4-6 September, 2024 and even the expert meeting of 2 September and 8th Conference of FOCAC Ministers which took place on 3 September 2024.                  
The Head of State who brought along a strong delegation of cabinet Ministers and General Managers of some para-public companies in the country demonstrated the diverse nature that the Chinese business ties are taking in the country. As the second world’s economic power, China has made significant presence in Africa, Cameroon inclusive. Areas of interest have been in the infrastructure, renewable energies, the Information and Communication Technologies, agricultural development, industrialisation, mining, security and more. These are all sectors that were visible in the massive deployment that Cameroon showed in China at the just-ended FOCAC. To ensure maximum benefits from the variety of options available in the China-Africa partnership offers, Cameroon also brought the likes of the President of the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Christophe Eken; General Manager of the National Airline Company Camair-Co, Ella Nguema Jean Christophe; the Managing Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, Philemon Zo’o  Zame, that of the Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL), Judith Yah Sunday epse Achidi; the Cameroon Water Utilities Corporation (CAMWATER), Blaise Moussa and so on. They all either had time to make useful contacts or joined Ministers in charge of their sectors in negotiating business partnerships. 
Apart from the different gatherings that marked FOCAC in China which reflected the varied options available for partnership, Cameroon also sought to tap from the policy statements that sanctioned the end of the gathering. These guidelines were formulated in the 30-point Beijing Declaration of 6 September and the 10-point Action Plan outlined by President Xi Jinping a day early in his keynote address at the solemn opener of FOCAC. Centring the views around modernisation and mutual community of peoples, the Action Plan touches on areas such as: Mutual Learning among Civilizations, Trade Prosperity, Industrial Chain Cooperation, Connectivity, Development Cooperation, Health, Agriculture and Livelihoods, People-to-People Exchanges, Green Development, and Common Security. 
The different action plans virtually reflect...