The British High Commissioner to Cameroon HE Christian Dennys McClure was received in audience on Thursday the 3rd of June 2021 by the Minister of SMESEH, Achille BASSILEKIN III, in his cabinet.
It was an occasion for both personalities to discuss issues of mutual interest such as the upcoming Salon du Mobilier “Made in Cameroon”, an exhibition of products made from legal timber and a competition among people working with legal timber. It shall be organized by the Artisan au Féminin association, under the twin patronage of MINPMEESA and the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, and with the British High Commission as one of its sponsors. This 4th edition of the exhibition has as objectives to help promote Cameroon’s forest heritage and the “Made in Cameroon” legal timber furniture, as well as to limit the effects of climate change. It shall be held at the Yaounde Conference Hall from the 29th of June till the 4th of July 2021.
According to Minister Achille BASSILEKIN III, this exhibition shall not only provide the occasion for the Ministry to accompany the craft women but more especially, those dealing with legal wood. To the Minister, there is reason to believe that “there is really convergence on the next steps and we also agreed to put together, a joint plan of activities that will certainly be enforced and, beyond the environmental priorities, we believe that the recent Cameroon-UK partnership agreement that was signed also provides opportunities for Cameroonian SMEs to export to the UK market. We also believe that there is also the need to be supported technically, in terms of raising the standards of our people so that we may end up having a win-win agreement between the UK and Cameroon.” Grounds were laid for complementary sessions of training for these women after the exhibition, to permit them obtain the necessary qualitative finishing of their products.
It should be noted that in terms of climate-related tasks, this exhibition is in line with the UN Climate Change Conference, COP 26, to be hosted by the UK from November 1-12, 2021 in Glasgow. The High Commissioner in this light did not hesitate to confirm British support throughout the event and forthcoming activities.
The ball has thus been set rolling for a joint plan of activities that will certainly be enforced in terms of environmental, industrial and commercial priorities to the benefit of Cameroonian SMEs.
