Talking to the press after the audience, the USA diplomat said Cameroon and America share a lot in common in the mining sector and that sustained partnership will project the sector and meet government’s vision of leaving nothing to chance and minimising no sector to attain an emerging economy status in 2035. “We talked extensively about American companies that are looking to develop minerals here in Cameroon. We also talk about the experience of the American companies that have been working in the petroleum sector, how they hope to expand on what they are already doing”, the diplomat said.
Coming on the heels of plans by MINIMIDT, through the Standards and Quality Agency (ANOR), to increase the number of national standards currently estimated at 400 to a level, likely to promote the competitiveness of local companies, while guaranteeing consumer safety and safeguarding the environment in 2011, P. Jackson stressed that the two governments could do better. “We also touched on the subject of patents, trademarks and norms for food safety and other forms of industrial safety. We are already working in this area but I think we can still reinforce it”.
USA is already active in Cameroon notably through the cobalt and nickel project in Nkamouna, Lomie, East Region with its company, Geovic, as well as in the bauxite-alumina-aluminium project with Cameroon Alumina and Hydromine. Records also show that ANOR is working in synergy with an American norms company, “American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and that possibilities of further partnership are in the offing. Given that 60 per cent of Cameroon’s mineral potentials are still unknown, Mr Ndanga Ndinga said sustained partnership with USA could be a welcome relief given the country’s rich experience in the mining sector.
