By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
The Minister of the Economy, Planning, and Regional Development (MINEPAT), Alamine Ousmane Mey, and the new Swiss Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E Natalie Kohli, have held discussions focused on strengthening economic relations between the two countries.
This was the substance of an audience MINEPAT granted to H.E Natalie Kohli on October 1 in Yaoundé. For nearly 45 minutes, both personalities reviewed the rich cooperation and had detailed discussions on fostering relations between the two countries.
Speaking shortly after the audience, Ambassador Kohli expressed her appreciation for meeting the Minister. She added that they held discussions centered around both the private and public sectors.
“I was very happy to meet the Minister this morning to discuss cooperation in the economic area between Switzerland and Cameroon,” the Ambassador said. “We have discussed both areas in the private and public sectors. We had a very good exchange on how we can further strengthen cooperation.”
Besides strengthening cooperation ties, she said, they also discussed actions to be taken to accelerate the implementation of the projects included in the Swiss Counter-Value Funds program, in order to achieve the closure of the said program signed in 2017.
“The priority is to finish projects we started before the pandemic. These projects include the development of renewable energies and capacity-building for certain SMEs in Cameroon,” H.E Kohli said.
Their closure, announced by the Ambassador for early 2025, will enable new development projects to be included in the Cameroon-Switzerland cooperation portfolio.
Appointed in August 2024, Natalie Kohli is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, based in Yaoundé.
Before her appointment, she was Presidential Adviser and International Adviser at the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) General Secretariat in Bern, Switzerland.