In November 2026, the Central African Republic strengthened its commitment to innovation and took a further step in promoting innovation and intellectual property. The Prime Minister received the Director General of OAPI and inaugurated the renovated CDPI.
A high-level meeting with the Prime Minister
Bangui – On Thursday, November 5, the Director General of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), Denis L. Bohoussou, began his working visit to the Central African Republic and was received in audience by the Prime Minister, Félix Moloua, representing the President of the Republic, Professor Faustin Archange Touadéra. He presented the objectives of his mission to the country as well as the actions undertaken by the Organization for the benefit of its member states.
Discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between OAPI and the Central African Republic in the areas of innovation, research, promoting the strategic use of intellectual property, and economic development. This meeting also highlighted the importance of protecting intangible assets and demonstrated that intellectual property is an excellent means of wealth creation, gaining a competitive edge, achieving competitiveness, and fostering sustainable economic transformation.
A technical information hub dedicated to research and innovation
On Friday, November 6, a key moment of this mission, the Prime Minister officially inaugurated the renovated Intellectual Property Documentation Center (CDPI) of OAPI in Bangui.
This modern center now offers researchers, students, inventors, craftspeople, entrepreneurs, and project leaders privileged access to millions of technical documents and patents from around the world. A true support tool for research and development, the CDPI will help stimulate inventive and entrepreneurial activity, encourage the commercialization of research results, and strengthen the competitiveness of national economic players.
The inauguration of this infrastructure has particular significance in a country that is home to the capital which gave its name to the Bangui Agreement, the founding text of OAPI since 1977. This dynamic now brings to fourteen (14) the number of operational CDPIs in the OAPI area.
An honorary distinction for the Director General of OAPI
As a prelude to the inauguration ceremony, the Central African Government elevated Mr. BOHOUSSOUto the rank of Officer of the National Order of Merit of the Central African Republic.
With this high distinction, the Central African authorities recognize strong leadership and unwavering dedication to the development of intellectual property, innovation and entrepreneurship within the seventeen member states of the Organization.
Enhanced cooperation for the benefit of economic and social development
The inauguration of the renovated CDPI, coupled with high-level discussions with the country's authorities, opens new avenues for supporting Central African researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs in creating innovative solutions to address the continent's development challenges. From the audience at the highest levels of government to the opening of this new space dedicated to technological knowledge, the OAPI Director General's mission to Bangui illustrates the shared ambition to place innovation, creativity, and intellectual property at the heart of the Central African Republic's economic transformation.
