During an audience granted to the new Turkish Ambassador to Cameroon by the Minister of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts Achille BASSILEKIN III on Wednesday the 14th of April 2021, both parties deepen and finalize the axes of cooperation initiated with the previous Ambassador, H.E Ayse SARAC.
It was thus the occasion to look into the organization of a benchmarking mission to the Turkish Centre of Excellence in Istanbul, which is still pending, owing to the Corona virus pandemic. The mission has as objective to explore the possibilities of tapping from the Turkish Institutional partners. This will undoubtedly set in motion, the National Pilot Enterprise Nursery of Edea (PNPE) which the Minister seized the opportunity to invite the Ambassador to visit.
Both personalities also discussed on ground works for strategic partnerships between Turkish and Cameroonian companies, especially in view of the next Turkey-Africa Economic and Trade Forum in Ankara, initially scheduled for April 2021. Exchanges also focused on the prospects of a meeting between MNPMEESA and the Representative of the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Development (TIKA) on areas of innovative cooperation in the SMESEH sector, especially in the area of handicrafts, which remain one of the flagships of Turkey’s historical influence. It was also the occasion for ground works on the organization of business meetings between the two countries as well as the participation of Turkey in the Cooperation and Partnership Days of MINPMEESA (JCP-MINPMEESA) scheduled for June 2021. The Turkish Ambassador was also invited by his host, to a visit of the Yaounde International Handicrafts Centre (CIAY) for starters, as he gets to uncover the handicrafts and craftsmen of the country during his stay in Cameroon.
In addition to the topics discussed during the audience, Turkish support could also be translated into the establishment of partnerships between Turkish and Cameroonian companies in the field of agri-food, renewable energy and textile; part of the priority sectors of the Industrialization Master Plan (PDI) of Cameroon. To this effect, H.E Volkan ISIKÇI declared at the end of the audience: “we look forward to developing those cooperations with priority on the Cameroonian side and after that, we will see in which areas we can develop those relations to the benefit of Cameroonian Small and medium sized enterprises, handicrafts.”
