The President of the Republic His Excellency Paul BIYA was today Friday 2nd June 2023 at the centre of a hectic diplomatic ceremony at Unity Palace during which he received letters of accreditation from five Ambassadors recently posted to Cameroon. These included the Ambassadors of Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Korea, Belgium, Tunisia and Turkiye.
The diplomatic ballet started at 2.00pm with the arrival of the respective Ambassadors with a backdrop of military music from the band of the Presidential Guard. His Excellency Armando Kote Echuaca of Equatorial Guinea inspected a guard of honour and the execution of the national anthem of Cameroon, before proceeding into the main building of the Unity Palace.
His Excellency Kim Jonghan of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Eric Jacquemin from the kingdom of Belgium, His Excellency Mohamed Karim Ben Becher of Tunisia and His Excellency Volkan ISIKCI of Turkiye each took turns for the same troop review and the execution of the national anthem.
The diplomats then presented their credentials in a solemn ceremony to the Head of State who had brief chats with each of them. The colourful ceremony took place in the company of some close collaborators of the Head of State: The Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh; the Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella; the Minister Director of the Civil Cabinet, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo; the Chief of Staff of the Special Command at the Presidency of the Republic, General Emmanuel Amougou and the Commander of the Presidential Guard; Colonel Raymond Jean Charles Beko’o Abondo.
The final stage of the ceremony was once more with the guard of honour and the execution of the national anthem of their respective countries by the band of the Presidential Guard. The Ambassadors departed from Unity Palace feeling fully satisfied and officially recognised as the emissaries of their respective countries.