Business in the Central African Republic

The aims of the subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Central African Republic” are the following:

1. To analyse the Central African Economy and Foreign Trade (Import, Export, FDI)
2. To know the business opportunities in the Central African Republic
3. To explore the Central African trade relations with the country of the student
4. To know the Central African Trade Agreements
5. To examine the profile of Central African Companies
6. To develop a business plan for the Central African Market

Trade Agreements and Preferential Access of the Central African Republic:

1. The Central African Republic and the Central African Economic Area
2. Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
3. Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC)
4. Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
5. African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA)
6. European Union-Central African Republic
   1. Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
   2. Africa-European Union Strategic Partnership (Cotonou Agreement)
7. United States-Central African Republic
   1. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
8. International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)
9. Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA)
10. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)

Trade Facilitation Programs

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
   1. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
   2. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
   3. WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
   4. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
   5. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG)
   6. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
2. World Customs Organisation (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)

African Trade and Economic Organisations. The Central African Republic is a member of:

1. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
2. African Union (AU)
   1. African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (not signed)
   2. African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
3. African Development Bank (AfDB)
4. Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
5. Africa-India Framework for Cooperation
6. Africa-BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)
7. Africa-Turkey Partnership
8. Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP)
9. Africa-Korea Partnership
10. Africa-Japan Cooperation (TICAD)
11. Africa-South America Summit (ASA)
12. Afro-Arab Cooperation
13. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)

Global Organisations

1. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - Observer State
   1. Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC)
   - observer country
2. International Organisation of Francophonie
3. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
   2. International Trade Centre (INTRACEN)
   3. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
4. World Bank (WB)
5. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
6. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Central African Republic

1. The Central African Republic (Africa) reached the limit of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
2. Poverty is a real phenomenon in the Central African Republic: 67% of the population (2,618,000 people) lives below the poverty line
3. Main cities in the Central African Republic: Bangui (capital), Bimbo, Mbaiki, Berbérati, Carnot, and Bambari Bouar
4. Official languages of the Central African Republic: French and Sango
5. Central African Population: 5.1 million people
   1. Bantu
6. Area of the Central African Republic: 623,000 square kilometres
7. Independence of the Central African Republic: 1960 (France)
8. Neighbouring countries: Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

More information: The Central African Republic (EENI African Portal).

Religion in the Central African Republic.

1. African Traditional Religions
2. Christianity:
   1. Catholicism (0.9 million)
   2. Protestants (0.9 million)
3. Islam

The Central African Republic belongs to the Central African Economic Area (African Civilisation).

Economy of the Central African Republic.

1. Serious political crisis in the Central African Republic: Transition Framework (self-proclaimed President)
2. Central African GDP growth (2014): -34.2%. 2015: 1.5%
   - Primary sector: 50% of the GDP
   - Secondary sector: 20%
   - Tertiary sector: 30%
3. Inflation in the Central African Republic: 6.5%
4. Central African Currency: CFA
5. Most dynamic sector in the Central African Republic: new technologies
6. Mining potential: diamonds, gold, uranium, iron, and petrol
7. Agriculture accounts for 55% of the GDP in the Central African Republic
8. Main crops in the Central African Republic: cassava, plantain, maize (corn), coffee, cotton, and snuff
9. The Northwest and Centre of the Central African Republic represents a significant agricultural region for the cotton crops and sugar-cane
10. Forestry in the Central African Republic contributes significantly to the Central African gross domestic product, with extensive tropical timber resources
11. Mining (gold) represents another important resource for the Central African Republic regarding the export earnings: official diamond jewellery production (mostly artisanal) was 500,000 carats annually
12. The Industrial base is almost non-existent and has not been sufficiently developed in comparison with the neighbouring countries (such as Cameroon)