This is one of the immediate effects of the Continental African Free Trade Area (CAFTA) that is being implemented on the African continent. Intra-African trade seems to be doing better. This is borne out by statistics showing an increase of 3.2%, reaching $192.2 billion in 2023, while world trade fell by 5.2% this year.
It is easy to understand , the Board of Governors, determined to strengthen trade and investment, supported trade financing initiatives, the promotion of export credit insurance and trade capacity building.
In the face of current challenges, the priority sectors identified for future intervention include agriculture; textiles; health; pharmaceuticals; infrastructure; transport; energy; construction equipment and technologies. These efforts are aimed at providing member countries with the infrastructure they need to enhance their competitiveness and catalyze trade.
During the two-day meeting, the representatives of the member countries of the Arabo-Africa Trade Bridges Program (AATB), governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), assessed the actions implemented and examined the prospects for this Program in the current geopolitical context. Discussions also focused on the special Food Security Program, with a maximum budget of US$1.5 billion. This program is structured around four main pillars: trade, investment, insurance and infrastructure, with cross-cutting activities in capacity building and technical assistance.
The Tunis meeting also highlighted the AATB Program, an initiative of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), part of the IDB Group, one of Cameroon’s strategic financial partners. The program aims to strengthen economic, trade and investment exchanges between Arab and African countries. This multi-donor, multi-country, multi-agency program brings together Arab and African countries, including Egypt; Senegal; Tunisia; Cameroon; Togo; Benin; Mauritania; Djibouti and Guinea. Ivory-Coast and Burkina Faso have recently joined the initiative.
The program’s financial partners include the IDB, ITFC, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), AFREXIMBANK, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investments and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC FUND). Since joining the program in 2022, this was Cameroon’s second participation in the Council, establishing a promising partnership with rich and varied prospects. The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, who represented Cameroon at the event, underlined the importance of the Arab-African Trade Bridges program for Cameroon.
He went on to highlight the benefits the country derives from this platform, particularly in terms of economic development, investment and trade. Minepat also welcomed the alignment of the Cameroon government’s import-substitution policy with the prospects offered by ZLECAF.
