The meeting between the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, and the members of the College of International NGOs of the CBFP took place this Tuesday, March 7, 2023, without taboos and with an open heart.
It was 3:00 pm sharp in Kinshasa, Yaoundé, Berlin and Paris when the signal for the start of the virtual meeting was given on Ms Team by the moderator of the session, Mr. Charly Facheux, Senior Vice President of AWF, assisted by Mr. Gaspard Abitsi, WCS Country Director. Organized only four months before the end of the German CBFP Facilitation, this dialogue was aimed for Dr. Ruck to present the results of the activities of the German CBFP Facilitation and to open the floor for comments, criticisms and suggestions on the work of the facilitation and on the organization/functioning of the CBFP in general, by the members of the college of international NGOs.
After the traditional round of introductions and as foreseen in the program, the floor was given to the CBFP Facilitator from the Federal Republic of Germany.
Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, in his speech, thanked the participants for their commitment and contributions during his mandate before giving an update on the Fair Deal Task Force. The Dialogue with China, the follow-up of the Ndjamena Declaration and the organization in July of a major international conference of Ministers on cross-border transhumance.
In summary, after the success of Ndjamena 1 organized by the Belgian CBFP Facilitation and which culminated in the Ndjamena Declaration, the point was moving from the Declaration to concerted actions. These actions should be undertaken as part of the work of the three geographical blocks (Center, Western, and Eastern) for the follow-up and implementation of the NDjamena Declaration, and presented in the country investment plans. Political actions are underway for the organization of the second conference on cross-border transhumance in Cameroon. The Facilitator 2nd held several meetings with Cameroon's senior authorities in this regard. He noted the support and the great involvement of the State of Cameroon in the process. The conference, initially scheduled for June, will finally be held from July 10 to 12, 2023 in Cameroon, the exact venue is still being discussed with the Cameroonian authorities. The Conference will serve as a framework to present to the leaders of the countries impacted by transhumance, the actions and solutions for the implementation of the Ndjamena Declaration.
The conference will be preceded during inMarch/April and separately in the three geographical blocks, by a first technical segment of experts from the countries concerned and partners of the geographical blocks. For the Eastern Block (DRC) the meeting of experts will take place on March 21, 2023 in Kinshasa and for the Central and Western Blocks: the meeting will be held from April 12 to 14, 2023 in N'Djamena.
Important work of coordination of donors (EU, USA, Germany, etc.) is being done to achieve it. The support of all partners is requested for the success of the conference.
The Facilitator announced that on the sidelines of the transhumance conference, Germany will hand over the facilitation to France & Gabon.
This brilliant speech of the CBFP Facilitator gave rise to questions on the structure of the July conference on transhumance, on the Fair Deal and on the next facilitation.
Concerning the 2nd conference on transhumance of July 10, 11 and 12, 2023, the CBFP Facilitator stated that the agenda being developed includes among other items, a technical segment which will last throughout the first day; the second day will be dedicated to the political segment which shall last until the morning of the third day, and the afternoon of the day 3 will be centered around the restitution as well as the handing-over of the facilitation from Germany to France - Gabon.
Concerning the transition of the themes between the two Facilitations, Dr. Ruck said he was very optimistic for the future. The roadmap of the France-Gabon facilitation is being developed. The partners will be informed by the new Facilitation, as soon as it is available.
Other points were discussed, including the dialogue with China, the Burundi Presidency of COMIFAC, and the priorities for the end of the German facilitation.
The CBFP Facilitator answered all the questions to the best of his ability. In sum, at the end of the discussion, the members of the college of international NGOs of the CBFP said they were satisfied with the results of the German facilitation. They commanded the immense work done by Honorable Dr. Ruck over the last two years.
In his closing remarks, the CBFP facilitator thanked the CBFP international NGOs for their support since the beginning of his mandate. He recalled the need to conclude the facilitation on major financial commitments for the Congo Basin. To this end, in anticipation of his advocacy mission with donors, the facilitator urged the participants concerned to finalize the action plans and country investment plans.
It is on this recommendation that the heart-to-heart discussion between the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany and the members of the CBFP College of International NGOs closed.
