Cameroon’s quest to attain economic emergence by the year 2035 should also take into consideration contributions by vulnerable groups, minorities and women. This was part of the message delivered by the visiting Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, to the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Philemon Yang, at the Star Building recently.

“I came from Geneva to express my solidarity with government and to state clearly how much it is important for us to see that the future of development is formally anchored in growing entrepreneurship, particularly entrepreneurship among the vulnerable and women,” he told the press after the audience. The Kenyan-born UN official, who was also the Head of State’s special guest during the celebration of the National Day on May 20, 2016, was in the country for the commissioning of the EMPETREC Programme in Yaounde.

The programme is which promoted by the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Entreprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, aims at grooming young entrepreneurs in efficiency and competitiveness. Since September 1, 2013, Dr. Mukhisa has been the Secretary General of UNCTAD, which is the United Nations body responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade.