CAMTEL uses digital cooperation to boost sub-regional integration.

It took place in Yaounde Monday. The event held under the theme: “International digital cooperation, sub-regional integration and the structural transformation of Cameroon’s economy”.

It is one of a series of activities the incumbent telecommunications operator has organised since September 8, 2023, as part of its 25^th anniversary celebrations.

It brought together representatives of government institutions, private sector, specialised institutions and actors in sub-regional integration in the CEMAC/ECCAS community area, players in the telecommunications sector and partners in the various segments of CAMTEL's activities, among others. 

Harping on the context and objectives of the event, the Technical Adviser No. 1 at CAMTEL, Francis Ottou, said it aims to identify strategies for CAMTEL’s development of framework to promote sub-regional integration and sensitise actors on the digital transformation’s role in sub-regional integration. 

Ottou said it also has as objective to identify the role of telecommunications in the development of the CEMAC sub-region, analyse challenges faced in the digitalisation drive and define a strategic roadmap in boosting sub-regional integration through digital cooperation.

In her opening address, the General Manager of CAMTEL, Judith Yah Sunday epse Achidi, said the event was being celebrated in a dual context: CAMTEL’s 25th anniversary and the 15th edition of CEMAC Day.

She said CEMAC's pivotal and strategic position at the centre of Africa makes it a privileged trading area between the different regions of the continent. 

Judith Yah Sunday stated that digital technology and digital interconnection offer major opportunities in this area.’

This, she added, justifies the theme of the event: "International digital cooperation, sub-regional integration and the structural transformation of the Cameroon’s economy".

Strengthening economic integration in CEMAC 

The CAMTEL General Manager told participants that: “In an era of globalised trade and rapid data transfer and processing, digital interconnection is emerging as a major project to strengthen economic integration in the CEMAC zone”. 

“In recent years, digital interconnection has developed in the sub-region, notably through the deployment of optical fibre and the development of the digital economy,” she said. 

“This includes the interconnection, since July 2021, of the electronic communications networks of Cameroon and Gabon through the laying of a 96-strand G652 optical fibre cable, which runs underground from Kye-Ossi in Cameroon to Bitam in Gabon, over a distance of 22 km, with significant benefits for the economies of both countries. In the same vein, Congo, Cameroon and the Central African Republic have been developing optical fibre interconnection between the countries through the Central African Backbone (CAB) Project since May 2022,” she disclosed further.

Achidi Judith used the opportunity to remind participants of CAMTEL’s “interconnection, access, and transport infrastructure-sharing catalogue, which includes international supply via four submarine cable exits and three landing stations”. 

“The said submarine cables include: the WACS cable at Batoke (Limbe), which links Cameroon to several countries on the West African coast and to the European continent; (the SAT3 cable, with a landing point in Douala, which offers an alternative exit to Europe and Asia via South Africa; the NCSCS cable in Kribi, which links Cameroon to Nigeria; and the SAIL cable, which links Kribi to Fortaleza in Brazil and makes it possible to interconnect Africa and the Americas,” she said. 

Potential to reduce the digital divide

The CAMTEL General Manager noted that CEMAC countries have potential that can reduce digital divide.

“In other words, our countries are brimming with potential that could definitively reduce the digital divide in our community and boost sustainable development through telecommunications,” she said.

“Through this CAMTEL Diplomacy and Sub-Regional Integration Day, we mainly expect that viable opportunities for the promotion of sub-regional integration through the digital economy will be identified, and that avenues for addressing the challenges linked to the coordination of the development of shared digital infrastructure in the CEMAC zone will be outlined,” Achidi Judith added.

Talking to the press, the Resident Representative of the CEMAC Commission, Pierre Guillaume Boum Bissai, said “it is a moment to reflect on what we have been able to do in different domains of integration, especially in the domain of telecommunications and digital transformation”. 

“We have a few projects in CEMAC in that regards as the General Manager of CAMTEL rightfully said. This concerns the integration of our countries through fibre optic or the establishment of free communication in CEMAC. CAMTEL is one of the leading companies in the sub-region in this domain. So, for us it is very pleasant to be part of this process, of this session of reflection, so that we can all see together how we can go forward,” Bissai added. 

The event featured presentations on topics such as “Sub-Regional Integration and Development of CEMAC Countries: Current Situation, Issues, Challenges and Prospects”, “The Role of ICTs in Modern Diplomacy and Regional Integration”, “Sub-Regional (CEMAC) and Continental (AfCFTA) Markets: Opportunities for Economic and Digital Development of Countries”, among others.