On the second lap of his stay in Turkey, the Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA presided over the Cameroon – Turkey Economic Forum that was organised at the Grand Cevahir Hotel in Istanbul and brought together Turkish businessmen under the banner of Tuskon with their Cameroonian counterparts and the Government Ministers who were in the official delegation accompanying President Paul BIYA to Turkey.
Early morning on Wednesday 27 March 2013, the Presidential Couple left Ankara, the capital city for Istanbul, which is the economic heart beat of Turkey, with an estimated population of 20 million people. The main event of the day in Istanbul was the economic over which took place at the Grand Cevahir Hotel. Before the arrival of the Head of State, several presentations were made by the Turkish and Cameroonian delegations. Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development Mr. Emmanuel NGANOU DJOUMESSI gave an expose on the changing business climate in Cameroon and invited the Turkish investors to feel free to come and do business in Cameroon.
The arrival of the Head of State for the closing remarks of the forum was the highly awaited moment as the Turkish business community were all ears to listen to the assurances of the Head of State. President Paul BIYA did not mince his words as he called on the Turkish investors to engage in a win – win cooperation with Cameroon, where there were ongoing projects in the domains of infrastructure, energy, mining, agro-pastoral industry, etc. The President reiterated his faith in the growing partnership between the two countries and said that Cameroon was counting on the contribution of Turkey to become an emerging economy by the year 2035.
The Head of State later had lunch offered by the Turkish business community at the start of which brief remarks were exchanged on the need to foster greater economic ties between Cameroon and Turkey. President Paul BIYA expressed his satisfaction with the attention and interest so far shown by the Government and people of Turkey, who are equally determined to see a marked increase in the economic ties between Turkey and Cameroon.
