Members of the steering committee were installed on Monday and urged to strive for efficiency.The steering committee charged with the proper follow up of economic partnership agreements between the government and the European Union (EU) have been urged to leave nothing to chance to ensure that the 5.5 million Euros (about FCFA 3.6 billion) Cameroon/EU Support Programme for Economic Partnership Agreements (PASAPE) is effectively implemented. The call was made by the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional
Development, Yaouba Abdoulaye, on Monday February 8, 2010 while commissioning steering committee members of the national follow-up and coordination for the negotiation of economic partnership agreements ACP/EU into their functions.PASAPE, whose convention was signed between the EU and Cameroon on October 11, 2007, the Minister Delegate said, has as objective to reinforce the competitiveness of the country??s economy and to facilitate its insertion into the economies of the Central African sub-region. This is done through the building of the capacities of negotiators of economic partnership agreements; enhancing the setting up of enterprises and the improvement of the business climate as well as the support for standards and quality.Mr Yaouba Abdoulaye said the Prime Minister on May 22, 2009 created the steering committee of the support programme while the members were designated on January 25, 2010 by the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development. He said their mission among others, comprised the supervision and orientation of the activities of the programme. After their installation, members of the steering committee immediately went to work as they were schooled in a working session notably on the programme, how it operates and what each of them would be expected to do to ensure efficiency, in view of preparing them for the assigned task.Economic partnership agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area between the European Commission of the European Union and the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
Godlove BAINKONG, CT
