Yaoundé – On 05 June 2023, an exchange workshop was organized on this topic by IOM Cameroon. 

“Migration as a factor in accelerating free movement in Central Africa for the achievement of the SDGs and the Global Compact for Migration.” This was the theme around which were articulated the exchanges of the Talkshow organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 05 June 2023, at the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) in Yaoundé. Hosted by the Chair of the World Trade Organization, the workshop chaired by Ms Brusil Miranda Martine Metou, Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade, had as objective to “Stimulate reflection, build partnerships and build knowledge related to small cross-border trade and its role in promoting the ZLECAf (African Continental Free Trade Area)”.  

Indeed, small-scale cross-border trade accounts for 50% of intra-African trade and is an important aspect of local economies that supports millions of Africans. This sector, important for Central African States in general and Cameroon in particular, is of interest to development actors. But, as Daniel Urbain Ndongo, Director of IRIC pointed out, “the Central African sub-region – the least integrated in Africa – faces several obstacles to the free movement of people, goods and services.” This area remains poorly studied, underexploited and undersupported by adequate policy responses to trigger sustainable development outcomes. 

For IOM, there is a two-way relationship between migration and trade: migration contributes to trade while benefiting from trade. In this context, the work of national and international trade actors in Cameroon and Central Africa has been to inform and build the capacities of stakeholders on the interrelationship between migration and trade, while examining its externalities. This was made possible by presentations and exchanges on the operationalization of the ZLECAf, the adoption and application of the CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) law on free movement, local development and mobility, challenges and opportunities, standardization, certification, quality and intellectual property. 

57 face-to-face participants and 20 online participants participated in the debates. They represented diplomacy (Ministry of External Relations, the Embassy of Japan and the Embassy of Chad), the Cameroonian Administration (General Directorate of Customs, General Delegation for National Security), International Organizations (International Fund for Agricultural Development, Ici Tout Commerce) and sub-regional (African Organization of Intellectual Property, Demographic Training and Research Institute of Yaoundé, Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States), as well as civil society (Central African Active Women's Network and Cameroon Young Women Entrepreneurs). The discussions were facilitated by a panel consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Trade, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the WTO Chair, the Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development, the General Delegation for National Security and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. 

At the end of the workshop, all the participants representing state and non-state structures agreed on the need to establish a formal framework for work on migration and trade, in order to better coordinate activities in this field. The participants also envisaged concerted and coordinated actions with the institutions of the sub-region to organize sub-regional consultations on mobility, small-scale cross-border trade and the development of joint projects.  

For more information, please contact Elodie Ndeme Bodolo, IOM Cameroon, Tel: 691638957, Email: endeme@iom.int