Experts are preparing for the June 2012 AGOA Forum and also to boost Cameroon’s exports.

The Technical Coordination, Monitoring and Support Committee for the putting in place of activities of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), on May 31, 2012 in Yaounde drilled stakeholders on ways of increasing Cameroon’s exports to the United States of America.

The Coordination Committee, chaired by the Secretary General in the Prime Minister’s Office, was created by the decree of the Prime Minister on January 30, 2012. It sets out to ensure the effective putting in place of all government activities designed to enable Cameroon benefit from AGOA that opens American markets to a variety of goods from Cameroon and other 39 countries South of the Sahara duty-free.

The Yaounde workshop was on the theme, “AGOA: Opportunities and constraints/ support and monitoring structures.” Other topics discussed during the one-day workshop included AGOA: Opportunities and constraints, opportunities to for the re-launch of the textile and clothing sector in Cameroon, African Women Entrepreneurship Platform, trends and opportunities of trade in specialised food products in American markets. They also talked about opportunities for handicraft products and, finally, the various ways of support and monitoring.

The Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Professor Touna Mama chaired the opening ceremony on behalf of the Secretary General in the Prime Minister’s Office. He stated the importance of the workshop in strengthening the capacities and technical support to enterprises. He further said it will enable Cameroon prepare for the 11^th AGOA Forum to take place in Washington, USA from June 9 to 25 and enable stakeholders understand the preferences for goods destined for export.

The US Ambassador to Cameroon, Robert P. Jackson, disclosed that Cameroon’s exports increased by eight per cent last year, stating that with the present exchange rate, it was beneficial to export to the US. Besides textiles, handicraft and agricultural products, he said, there are a lot of other products Cameroon can export and be competitive in the American market. He advised government to continue improving the business climate, democracy and governance.