On 18 July 2024, the General Manager of the Cameroon National Shippers' Council (CNSC), Mr. Auguste Mbappe Penda, welcomed some participants of the sub-regional workshop on the Optimisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) organised in Douala by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

These participants included Mr. Benjamin Evita Oma - Vice-President of the Equatorial Guinea Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Fatime Amsissane Lamana - Member of the National Transition Council of Chad, Mrs. Rose Hélène Mengue - Vice-President of MTA Colis Express, and Mrs. Augustine Pauliane Boum - attorney-at-law at the Cameroon Bar.

These senior officials and actors of international trade had been informed of the key role played by the CNSC in the implementation of the AfCFTA in Cameroon, and came to learn more about the experience of the Ad hoc sub-committee charged with overseeing the implementation of the AfCFTA Guided Trade initiative, chaired by Mr. Auguste Mbappe Penda.

They were given an overview of Cameroon's progress since the signing of the presidential decree ratifying the AfCFTA Agreement on 31 October 2019. Mr. Etienne Cham Bama, Technical Adviser No. 1 at the CNSC and Coordinator of the technical secretariat of the said Ad hoc sub-committee, together with Mrs. Claire Onana Takouchop, CNSC’s Director for Shippers' Assistance, took turns to elaborate on various awareness-raising, assistance and facilitation initiatives undertaken on a daily basis by the CNSC in the interest of the local business community.

The vice-president of the Equatorial Guinea Chamber of Commerce and the member of Chad's National Transitional Council were full of admiration for the CNSC, and promised to pass on the content of the discussions to their respective governments, with a view to ensuring that AfCFTA becomes a reality throughout the Central African sub-region.