- UAE to aid Cameroon in exploring opportunities in renewable energy and infrastructure.
- The UAE invested US$1.2 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa between January 2016 and July 2021.
Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has led an Emirati delegation of business, investment, and development leaders to Cameroon to explore opportunities and strengthen UAE-Cameroon ties.
The delegation included Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development Chairman, and several senior officials.
The discussions highlighted the Cameroon government’s pledge to increase the contribution of renewables to 25% of the country’s energy mix by 2035, as well as its hydropower generation potential, which ranks as the third highest on the African continent.
Al Zeyoudi highlighted the significant potential for enhanced UAE-Cameroon ties and underscored the value of such visits to the UAE’s foreign trade and investment agenda. “Cameroon is an emerging and ambitious economy, and it is evident that there is considerable scope to extend bilateral trade and enhance investment flows into priority sectors such as renewable energy, technology and logistics,” he said.
“The UAE invested US$1.2 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa between January 2016 and July 2021, and this visit has underlined the significant opportunity in Cameroon. I am confident we have created an important platform for future collaboration between the public and private sectors while underlining the UAE’s role as a launchpad for African companies seeking to expand into global markets,” he added.
Economic ties between the UAE and Cameroon have been growing steadily in recent years, with non-oil trade reaching $406 million in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 5.7% over the same period in 2021 and 113% over the same period in 2020.