Trade facilitation has become a key issue in international relations, with the entry into force on 22 February 2017 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation. This tool provides for the reduction of trade costs by an average of 14.3% and an increase in world trade by USD 1 trillion per year, with a greater record of gains for the poorest countries.
Against this backdrop and in accordance with the TFA, Cameroon, which occupies a strategic position stretching from Lake Chad to the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, created its National Trade Facilitation Committee (CONAFE) through Decree No. 2016/0381/PM of 1 March 2016. The mission of this Committee is to monitor and coordinate the implementation of measures aimed at facilitating and accelerating international trade and transport.
In 2021, under the leadership of CONAFE, Cameroon adopted a National Roadmap on Trade Facilitation (NRTF) 2021-2025 , with the vision: “Cameroon, land of attractiveness and competitiveness in terms of foreign trade by 2025”. The said NRTF states the objectives to be achieved, the strategic guidelines for implementation, and a priority action plan.
The monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of this public policy instrument was entrusted to CONAFE, upon its reform through Decree No. 2022/0062/PM of 2 February 2022 to reorganize the National Trade Facilitation Committee. According to the provisions of this Decree, CONAFE is responsible for:
- ensuring the implementation of the NRTF;
- ensuring co-ordination between the organs involved in trade and transport facilitation, and strengthening partnership between the public and private sectors;
- conducting or commissioning studies to identify problems affecting the costs, delays and efficiency of international trade, and proposing measures to reduce the costs of international trade;
- proposing measures to reduce costs and delays and improve the efficiency of international trade, and participating in their implementation;
- contributing towards the dissemination of information on the methods and benefits of trade and transport facilitation and on best practices in these areas;
- proposing measures to the Government, public organizations and private professional bodies with a view to simplifying, normalizing, harmonizing and standardizing international trade procedures;
- making recommendations on the improvement of regulations and practices in the field of international trade and transport;
- participating in international efforts to improve trade facilitation and efficiency, and contributing towards the actions of international organizations dealing with trade and transport facilitation;
- monitoring the implementation of international trade and transport facilitation reforms and agreements;
- contributing significantly towards improving the country’s position in negotiations on international trade and transport facilitation in conjunction with the relevant administrative bodies and organizations;
- carrying out any other mission entrusted to it by the Government in relation to its mission.