UK High Commissioner pays a working visit to the CNSC

November 12, 2021

His Excellency Christian Dennys-McClure was received in Douala on 11 November 2021.

The General Manager of the Cameroon National Shippers' Council, Auguste Mbappe Penda, warmly welcomed his high-profile guest at the Maritime Affairs Centre in Douala. The diplomat, flanged by his main collaborators, later joined CNSC's General Manager and his closest collaborators for a meeting.

The participants, after watching a documentary on the main achievements of the CNSC, shared their views on its missions and major projects.

The Cameroon National Shippers' Council is the government's resource agency for the collection of statistics on international trade in goods, for both imports and exports. The data collected now includes informal cross-border trade to enable the government make informed decisions on the proposition and implementation of trade policies for inclusive development.

"Being a trade support institution, the Cameroon National Shippers' Council had anticipated on this move, once the Brexit was announced, by partnering with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), through an institutional strategic partnership in March 2019.

This was after CNSC's very first participation in the Commonwealth Business Forum held in April 2018 at the invitation of the CWEIC. Since then, we have encouraged our private sector to join the CWEIC with the hope to see our trade and investment ties grow faster," said Auguste Mbappe Penda.

CNSC's General Manager once again extended an invitation to the High Commissioner to take part in the first session of the platform between the Ministry of External Relations and the Cameroon National Shippers' Council for the implementation and monitoring of the institutional strategic partnership organised by the Minister Delegate in charge of relations with the Commonwealth following the approval of the Prime Minister, Head of Government.

At the end discussions, H.E. Christian Dennys-McClure expressed his satisfaction saying "Our objective was to understand the challenges faced by the CNSC and the opportunities it offers.

Earlier this year, the UK ratified an EPA agreement between our two nations to boost trade flows between them. This is an important aspect of our bilateral relationship".

At the end of the working session, CNSC's General Manager took the UK High Commissioner and his delegation on a guided at the Douala Maritime Museum.