By Noela Ebob Bisong
The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Ms. Vera Songwe is expected to pay an official visit to the Republic of Cameroon from 17 to 19 April 2019. The information was made public on April 12 in a Press Release.
According to the press release, the visit would enable Executive Secretary strengthen the Commission’s cooperation ties with Cameroon, especially in support of its efforts toward inclusive and sustainable development, structural transformation, economic diversification, regional integration and trade, as well as the digital economy.
During her 72-hour stay, Ms. Songwe, who also hails from Cameroon, will hold discussions with several Cameroonian State authorities and give a lecture on Regional Integration and the Digital Economy at the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC).
She is also expected to address key Cameroonian policy makers convened by ECA to a National Awareness and Information Forum on the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – which will soon go operational following its ratification by 22 African member States.
Of recent, ECA has been involved with Cameroon at various levels, including high-level policy dialogues with Government officials and planners, Support on economic diversification, as well as capacity building notably the 2019 Training Workshop on Modeling, an activity which was organized with the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, and around 10 staff of the Ministry of Employment and MINEPAT received training.
Ms. Songwe’s first official visit to Cameroon in her capacity as ECA’s Executive Secretary is very timely given that the country is embarking on development trajectories which are at the center of ECA’s current development policy advice to African member States.
It should be noted that Vera Songwe (PhD), took up her role as the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on 3 August 2017 at the level of Under Secretary-General. She holds a PhD in Mathematical Economics from the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics, a Master of Arts in Law and Economics and a Diplôme d’études approfondies in Economic Science and Politics from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan and is a graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes College in Cameroon. Ms. Songwe has published widely on development and economic issues.