Cameroon looks forward to a fruitful FOCAC Beijing summit

YAOUNDE, Aug. 30, (Xinhua) – Michael Fru, 49,
looks proudly at his merchandise exhibited in front of his shop, Fru and Sons
Enterprise, in downtown Douala, the most populous city in Cameroon.

Covering a surface area of approximately
10,000 square feet (about 930 square meters), Fru’s shop is one of the biggest
in town.

The store sells household utensils, furniture,
electronics, clothes, shoes, toys, furs and car parts. “Everything you see
here is imported from China,” Fru said.

In 2008, Fru, then a struggling businessman,
forged connections in China, and began travelling to the Chinese cities of
Guangzhou and Shenzhen to buy goods.

He started off with a few thousand U.S. dollars,
but now handles 400,000 to 500,000 dollars in orders at a time.

“I travel to China at least six times a
year. I have sustained a mutually beneficial relationship with my Chinese
partners since 2008,” he said, describing China as his “second country.”

Fru, one of many Cameroonians who’ve benefited
from a close relationship with China, hopes that the upcoming Beijing summit of
the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will push bilateral ties to a new
high.

Jean Magloire, rapporteur at Cameroon’s
Ministry of Economy and Finance, said economic and trade cooperation between
the two countries has yielded very positive results in the areas of
agriculture, technology, infrastructure, health and energy, since 1971, when
Cameroon and China established full diplomatic relations.

In March, Cameroonian President Paul Biya was
the first African leader to visit China this year. It was the sixth trip to
China by the president.

Samuel Bambo, a foreign affairs officer at
Cameroon’s Ministry of External Relations, said the FOCAC summit in Beijing is
more than just Africa-China cooperation talks; it’s about sitting down with one
of Africa’s greatest partners.

President Biya’s China visit in March
“gave the reassurance of not only a friendly but rich and fruitful
Sino-Cameroon relationship that has existed for decades now,” he said.
“China has been very supportive in the areas of development and is a
strategic partner for the quest of emergence of Cameroon by 2035.”

During the visit, Biya made it clear that
Cameroon is committed to enhancing strategic cooperation with China, and
welcomes more investment from China in such areas as industry, agriculture,
energy, transportation, social housing, and new technology, Bambo said.

Prof. Kizitus Mpoche, vice-dean of the Faculty
of Modern Letters and Social Sciences of the University of Douala, said the
sectors highlighted by President Biya are essential to Cameroon.

“Fruitful deals from FOCAC Beijing summit
can significantly revamp the country’s economy,” Mpoche said. “That
is why, I think the Belt and Road Initiative is laudable.”

Nick Ngwanyam, political scientist and CEO of
St. Louis University Institute, says the FOCAC could be a game changer for
Cameroon if the country has a mindset geared toward development, integrity and
accountability.

“We have to warm up the relationship
based on what is at stake and what we want. We want to bring something from
FOCAC that will help us move ahead as a nation and as a people,” Ngwanyam
said.

According to the Cartel of Cameroon
Entrepreneurs, known in its French acronym as GICAM, close to 100 Cameroonian
businessmen will visit China on the sidelines of the Beijing summit, scheduled
for early September.

The businessmen traveling to China intend to
seize the opportunity and sign deals with Chinese private companies to
“boost our cooperation and create more jobs for the youths back
home,” said Magloire, the rapporteur at Cameroon’s Ministry of Economy and
Finance.

For his part, Ngwanyam said signing deals is
not enough.

Cameroon needs to learn from the best
practices of China, he said. “We have to work with China… to add value
to our systems.”

“China can give us something that is
worth more than dollars,” Ngwanyam said.

“We must bring back from China the
capacity to create wealth and jobs in Cameroon,” he added. 

GNA

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