Preparation hightens ahead of Durban Trade
Fair
-Interested business operators invited to
present themselves at the Ministry of Trade in Yaounde
 |
Motomby Joseph Ndoumbe, Director of
External Trade and Focal Point of Cameroon/SA business Forum
Durban Trade Fair
|
Cameroon has begun preparations ahead of
the 2017 edition of the Durban Trade Fair to hold from 26 September to 1st
October 2017 in Durban, South Africa.
This
17th edition of the annual event is expected to regroup over 600 participants
and attract about 15000 visitors from countries accross the world.
As
has been the case with previous editions, the 2017 Durban Trade Fair affords a
veritable opportunity for Cameroonian businessmen to showcase and promote their
products to the wider world.
It
is certainly in recognition of the important gains that Cameroonian industries
stand to make from the Fair, that the Minister of Trade has issued a release
inviting Cameroonian business operators to jump for the occasion and take
advantage of the opportunities presented by the fair in terms of marketing
Cameroonian trademarks and creating win-win business partnerships with their
counterparts from other countries.
“The Durban Trade Fair is an annual
international event which falls within the ambit of the trade accord signed in
2006 between Cameroon and South Africa. The accord opens avenues for both
countries to participate in business and economic fora organized in the two
countries with the aim of promoting trade and sharing ideas in the development
of trade and industry,” noted the release issued by the Trade Minister.
It
also noted that it was in respect of the terms of the Accord that a Joint
Cameroon/South Africa Business Forum was set up to meet at regular intervals to
seek ways of promoting trade between the two countries.
According
to the Director of External Trade at the Cameroon Ministry of Trade, Motomby
Joseph Ndoumbe, who doubles as Cameroon Focal Point of the Cameroon/South
Africa Business Forum, the trade fair presents an occasion for the promotion of
bilateral trade between Cameroon and South Africa. It also creates an avenue
for negotiation of joint ventures between Cameroonian and South African business
operators.
Motomby
noted that “even though the balance of trade presently favours South Africa,
perhaps because of the country’s relative industrial advancement vis-vis
Cameroon, Cameroonian businessmen should not be discouraged because they can
still reverse the trend. And this can be possible especially if we focus our
attention on our most competitive export products.”
It
is for this reason that the ministry of trade has been multiplying meetings and
working sessions with interested business operators, to prepare them towards a
remarkable participation at the 2017 Durban Trade Fair come September.
Drawn
from virtually all sectors of the national economy, the prospective
participants at the fair are edified by the ministry of trade on the objectives
of the fair. They are also urged to submit lists of products they intend to
showcase at the fair and suggestions on their expectations for review and
onward transmission to South Africa.
“Our
objective is to make a really positive impact in South Africa. Because the
balance of trade between our two countries is in our disfavour, our prime goal
is to seek ways and means of reversing the trend. We understand that this
cannot be achieved in 1 or 2 years; so, we must start working hard now so that
we can make good the lag in the near future. We cannot afford to fold our arms
at this juncture,” MotombyNdumbe posited.
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