CEMAC Summit 2025 Traces Trajectory Toward Integration and Harmonization
Under the theme of ‘A Clear and Common Political Will to Serve the Peoples of Central Africa’, the 16th CEMAC Summit 2025 (#CEMAC2025) covened in Bangui on 10 September 2025, preceded by the Ministerial-level preparatory meeting on the previous day. The 15th Summit took place in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, in 2023. Due to ‘health reasons’, Cameroon President Paul Biya excused himself and dispatched the Secretary-General to the Presidency Ferdinand Ngoh as emissary.
In order to address pressures arising from public debt and foreign currency reserves, the CEMAC countries agreed to optimize their monetary and fiscal policies, as well as to harmonize their customs regulations. In particular, the #CEMAC will seek pathways to generate more revenue for the public treasury through higher monetization of their natural resources.
“The acceleration of the process of interconnection of infrastructure — be it in transport, electrical, energy, and telecoms — is gaining momentum … During my chairmanship, it was my responsibility and pleasure to lead the high-level roundtable in Paris for the financing of such transformative regional infrastructure to the tune of USD 9.2 billion.”
CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera
Another key item on the agenda was the status on regional integration in terms of the single market and economic bloc. In that regard, CEMAC agreed to implement visa-free policy for CEMAC citizens holding biometric passports across the sub-region. In the same vein, CEMAC will work on regional #EconomicCorridors to enhance connectivity, lower logistics costs, and boost trade.
A single market and free trade zone might be a low-hanging fruit to promote free movement of goods and the slogan of #CEMAC2025 to move forward “toward a dynamic and emerging regional integration” reflected that.
On the issue of the merger of CEMAC and CEEAC, it would appear the conditions are not yet ripe, although efforts are ongoing with the joint CEMAC-CEEAC Summit that recently took place in Yaounde in July 2025. Within #CEEAC, there appears to be some palpable tension between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda over the control of the mineral-rich region near the border between the two countries.
In the past, the project of a regional airline under Air CEMAC did not materialize as Cameroon and the Republic of Congo both jostled to house the hub. Thanks to the successful holding of the Summit, it was agreed to have the seat of the CEMAC Commission in Bangui.
Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera symbolically handed over chairshp of CEMAC to the Republic of Congo President Denis N’Guesso. In the same breath, President N’Guesso was also elevated to the Grand Commander for Community Merit.
“We entered politics lifted by the spirit of Pan-Africanism, the liberalization of the continent, and regional integration, or development for short.”
RDC President Denis G’Guesso