Faced with Chinese competition and its hegemony at the global level, the European Union once again demonstrated its interest in raw materials during the Cameroon International Convention of Mines and Exhibitions (CIMEC) held from May 22 to 24 2024 in Yaoundé.
Present at the work of Cimec 2024, the current ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union in Cameroon, Jean Marc Chataigner spoke about the motives for such an investment in Cameroon. According to the European diplomat, in addition to the fact that the critical raw materials sector is a major issue for the ecological transition of the planet, it also constitutes a development lever that can generate thousands of decent jobs.
Although European diplomacy, via Marc Chataigner, admits to being committed to supporting the energy transition and the sustainable development of populations, it also campaigns for a sustainable and protective approach to the environment.
While the Cameroonian Acting Minister of Mines, Fuh Calistus Gentry assured during the CIMEC 2024 meetings that the local processing of critical minerals proves to be an imperative for the development of countries and the well-being of populations, that it is important that the States of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific take useful decisions with a view to being the first beneficiaries of the advantages offered by natural capital; to the European Union we recommend collaboration between the parties, “… We must dare to work together for the energy transition and the sustainable development of our populations”.
As a reminder, under the theme “Unlocking the potential of the OACPS: ensuring energy and digital transitions through critical raw materials”; the work of Cimec 2024 closed around several resolutions. From the Cameroonian Acting Minister of Mines, Fuh Calistus Gentry, we learned that the action plan validated by the OACPS Ministers of Mines was forged in a non-exhaustive manner around the implementation of an adequate institutional framework; the engagement of OACPS countries at the geostrategic level; the definition and execution of industrial and commercial development policies and finally the improvement of the sustainable development indicator of OACPS countries.
