At the initiative of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) Commission, a meeting was held between the private sector and the tax and customs administrations of CEMAC countries from 08 to 10 August 2024 at Krystal Palace Hotel in Douala.

The meeting, chaired by H.E. Baltasar Engonga Edjo'o, President of the CEMAC Commission, sought to bring together the private sector and the sub-region's tax and customs authorities as part of an ongoing dialogue on issues relating to the growth of intra-community trade. The meeting was convened around the theme ‘Defining approaches for a better coordination of policies to promote the private sector,’ based on thematic workshops designed to produce resolutions and practical strategies to make the CEMAC zone an ‘integrated economic zone at the service of human development.’ To this end, the CEMAC Commission invited tax and customs authorities, CEMAC financial institutions, chambers of commerce and the president of the CEMAC Employers‘ Association, as well as the Cameroon National Shippers’ Council, to take part in the workshops.

The thematic workshops focused respectively on tax and customs issues and the examination of proposals from the Central African Employers' Association (UNIPACE), the financing of CEMAC economies as well as the opportunities offered to the private sector, and finally the implementation of the import-substitution policy for local products, which was the subject of a presentation by Mr. Cham Etienne Bama, Technical Advisor No. 1 at the CNSC.

At the end of this meeting, the CEMAC Commission expressed its satisfaction with the quality of the recommendations made and renewed its commitment and readiness to implement recommendations emanating from these workshops, which will have a considerable impact on the business climate in the CEMAC zone.