For two days, the Minister of the Economy Planning and Regional Development will share strategic orientations with private sector actors in Douala for the relaunch of economic growth.
The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Louis Paul Motaze will as from today begin meeting with private sector operators in the economic capital, Douala. The two-day concertation meeting, officials of the ministry say, will focus on sharing strategic orientations for the relaunch of economic growth in the country. The meeting is scheduled to take place at the head office of the Employers’ Association of Cameroon (GICAM) in Douala.
According to organisers of the meeting, the strategic orientations seek to foster economic diversification, local transformation, economic consciousness and increase production. Minister Louis Paul Motaze intends to use the meeting to brainstorm with businessmen on the type of partnership to be put in place in order to reinforce his ministry’s role in stimulating private investment, which should take the relay from public investment.
Exchanges on strategies to favour greater economic diversification and fast tract the processing of primary products will come under focus. Also, a preliminary general census of enterprises will be carried out, while terms of reference for the promotion of exports from Cameroon to the European Union will be presented and validated.
The meeting, which comes after the January economic outing of the Economy Minister to the Mungo Division, falls in line with government’s action to strengthen its dispositions to accompany the private sector to mobilise capital and gain access to funding put in place by international finance institutions, notably the European Investment Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
This will go a long way to boost the country’s export capacity in the major growth sectors, substitute the import of certain goods with local production and make enterprises more vibrant to enable them create more jobs, especially for the youth. It should be noted that this year, government adopted the concept of “Economic Patriotism.”
Through this ideology, private sector operators are called upon not to only maximize profit and care for their interest, but to put the general interest of the country at the fore – paying required taxes, creating jobs, alleviating poverty and so forth. Government has always considered publicprivate dialogue a priority, while looking on the private sector as the main engine of economic growth.