At the invitation of his Excellency Paul Biya, President of the republic of Cameroon, an Extraordinary Summit of Central African Heads of State held in Yaounde on the 23 December 2016 at the Unity Palace.

This meeting had as main objective the assessment of the economic and monetary situation in the CEMAC zone and to adopt appropriate measures aiming at checking the negative effects of the double impact of the security and oil situations on economies in the sub-region.

Present at the meeting were:

• His Excellency Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon;
• His Excellency Faustin Archange TOUADERA, President of the Central African Republic;
• His Excellency Denis SASSOU NGUESSO, President of the Republic of Congo;
• His Excellency Ali BONGO ONDIMBA, President of the Republic Gabon;
• His Excellency OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea;
• His Excellency Idriss DEBY ITNO, President of the Republic of Chad.

Equally present were:

• Mrs Christine LAGARDE, Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF);
• Mr. Michel SAPIN, French Minister of Economy and Finance;
• Mr. Pierre MOUSSA, President of CEMAC Commission;
• Mr. Lucas ABAGA NCHAMA, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).

Touching on points on the agenda, the Heads of State first of all followed the Special Communication of the Director General of the International Monetary Fund. After this they listened to the address of the French Minister of Economy and Finance before acknowledging the report of the Meeting of CEMAC Ministers of Economy and Finance held in Yaounde on the 22 December 2016.

After these presentations, the Heads of State shared views on several issues raised, notably on the extent of the consequences of the drop in oil prices on economies of the Sub-Region, the financial and monetary management of CEMAC, measures adopted to come out of this difficult economic downturn.

At the end of discussions, the Heads of State:

1. First of all noted that the strengthening of macroeconomic stability does not require a readjustment of the current monetary parity, but rather, domestic and external adjustment efforts accompanied by adequate structural reforms.
2. Decided to adopt appropriate measures aimed at reversing the negative trends in the economy of the sub-region, combining an adequate fiscal policy, a monetary policy and an enhanced international cooperation.
3. Reaffirmed their common vision of making the CEMAC zone an emerging avenue in the near future, through a judicious setting up of necessary infrastructure for the promotion of sustainable and inclusive development for the benefit of their populations.
4. Reiterated their unwavering commitment to community solidarity in the face of current and future economic and security shocks.
5. Decided, on monetary policy, to freeze the ceilings of BEAC’s statutory advances at the level of the 2014 budget revenues.
6. Prescribed the strengthening of the financial stability of the CEMAC zone through increased supervision of the banking system and optimal use of monetary policy instruments.
7. Urged BEAC to propose in the near future, for the benefit of the States, measures aimed at promoting progressive migration towards funding by Capital Markets, instead of direct funding by the Central Bank.
8. Reiterated their commitment to vigorously pursue, in every country, budgetary adjustments necessary for a controlled, judicious and progressive rebalancing of their public finance.
9. Agreed on the urgent need to carry out targeted budget policies on public expenditure in order to preserve social gains in a context of extreme economic and financial fragility.
10. Committed to a gradual recovery of the budgetary balance of States and agreed to reduce the balance in less than five years below 3%.
11. Stressed the importance of maintaining sustainable and viable debt by favouring concessional financing and by encouraging public-private partnerships for the implementation of infrastructure programmes.
12. Welcomed the informed advice and technical assistance of development partners.
13. Decided to open and conclude, in the near future, bilateral negotiations with the IMF, to better structure adjustment efforts of their States, accompany them towards an end to the crisis and to help them put in place conditions for a virtuous and sustainable launching of their economies.
14. Requested for each country, measures for strengthening a more amicable and friendly international cooperation.
15. Agreed, by reason of the exogenous nature of the economic shock witnessed, to fully rely on all multilateral partners for greater access to concessional funding necessary for the strengthening of the balance of payment and the pursuit of priority development projects.
16. Decided to resolutely accelerate the finalization of the free movement of persons and goods, and the rapid realization of integrative projects while preserving security.
17. Renewed their common commitment and determination to substantially improve business climate in the CEMAC zone, in order to vigorously promote income-generating economic activity and to optimally mobilize domestic tax revenues.
18. Encouraged their respective countries to strengthen tax cooperation in order to fight against tax fraud, evasion and optimization which deprive them of substantial resources.
19. Prescribed the intensification of measures and actions aimed at diversifying their economies to make them less vulnerable to exogenous shocks, and more competitive in the wake of liberalization of trade in an increasingly open world.
20. Entrusted to CEMAC’s Economic and Financial Reform Program the follow-up of measures taken and to give due account of their implementation.
21. Prescribed the regular holding at ministerial level of follow-up and evaluation meetings on remedial measures and their effects on the economic, financial and monetary situation of CEMAC countries.

At the end of deliberations marking the Extraordinary Summit, the Heads of State lauded the participation in this Summit of special guests:

• Mrs Christine LAGARDE, Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF);
• Mr. Michel SAPIN, French Minister of Economy and Finance;
• Mr. Pierre MOUSSA, President of CEMAC Commission;
• Mr. Lucas ABAGA NCHAMA, Governor of BEAC.

They expressed their deep appreciation to His Excellency Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon, for the initiative and the successful organization of this Summit. The work of the Extraordinary Summit of Central African Heads of State on the economic and monetary situation in the CEMAC zone took place in an atmosphere of serenity, reciprocal and cordial understanding.

Done in Yaounde, the 23 December 2016.