Roundup: Former European Commission chief in Cameroon hails China, Africa cooperation

The key economic role played by China, which has become Cameroon's and indeed Africa's number one commercial partner, should not arouse jealousy from Europe, the continent's traditional partner, ex-European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said.

Barroso was speaking early this week during a two-day workshop organized in Yaounde by the Cameroonian government to mobilize investment resources to shore up the economy which has been hit by a drop in international crude oil prices and terrorist attacks by Boko Haram.

In a speech titled "Reinforcing economic partnership between Europe and Africa and Boosting European investments in Africa," Barroso acknowledged that cooperation between Africa and China was very useful.

"Europe should not be jealous. On the contrary, I am happy when I see other partners like China who come to Africa and invest in infrastructure projects. It is normal for other bigger economies to seek partnership with the continent," he said.

The former European Commission boss said for Africa to develop, there is need for more partners to come on board and also have different sources of funding, be it public or private funding, or even through public-private partnerships.

Although Cameroon is the largest economy in the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) zone, which is also comprised of the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Chad, the country continues to suffer the negative effects of the drop in the oil prices as well as rising cases of insecurity, particularly in the Far North where Boko Haram terrorist group continues to carry out suicide attacks.

The country has, however, managed to remain stable due to what officials say is "economic diversification."

According to Planing and Economy Minister Louis Paul Motaze, despite a difficult international environment, "Cameroon's economy has remained resilient and has maintained a growth trend from 1.9 percent in 2009 to 6 percent in 2015."

To achieve strong and lasting growth, the authorities hope to achieve an average of 6 percent growth between 2016 and 2018, the deadline for execution of the Emergency Plan for Growth Acceleration that was launched in 2015.

According to the minister, efforts are being made to respond to five key challenges, among them "controlling the high cost of production."

Other challenges, he said, include increasing private investments and dismantling barriers that have prevented Cameroon's exports from accessing the European Union market.

The country also hopes to overcome the challenge of over dependence on raw materials such as crude oil, and start focusing on developing the manufacturing sector.

The objective of the Yaounde conference is "to examine Cameroon's economy and see how the private sector can contribute to its expansion, and also evaluate the country's real attractiveness with a view of its integration into the global economy in a more beneficial manner." Endit