Unlocking Growth Through the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment: The Case of Cameroon
摘要
Cameroon was among the early adopters of the AfCFTA, ratifying the AfCFTA Agreement in 2019 and actively participating in negotiations, including the development of the Protocol on Investment (PoI), which was adopted in February 2023. The PoI aims to promote and protect intra-African investment in the AfCFTA and harmonise coexisting national, bilateral, and regional investment regulations on the continent. Article 52 (2) of the PoI stipulates that “State Parties shall, within 5 years from the entry into force of this Protocol, bring their national laws, regulations and policies into alignment with this Protocol”. The objective of the study is to analyse the current regulatory frameworks governing investment in Cameroon and identify convergences and divergences about the Protocol PoI. After presenting the instruments regulating investment in Cameroon, we have analysed their coherence/divergence according to the five dimensions of PoI: investment promotion and facilitation, investment protection, sustainable development, investor obligations, and dispute resolution. We find some convergences between the regulatory framework governing investment in Cameroon and PoI. However, some elements of PoI, including physical protection and security of the investor, sustainable development, and investor obligations, need to be explicitly introduced in the legislation.