Members of the Diplomatic Corps and National Dignitaries presented New Year wishes to the Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA, at Unity Palace on 10 January 2025.
The solemn ceremony opened at the Hall of Ambassadors where H.E. Mostafa Bouh, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps acknowledged Cameroon’s hospitality and efforts to strengthen multilateralism. He congratulated the Head of State on CAF’s decision to confer the Excellence Award, a recognition for his outstanding contribution to the growth of football on the African continent.
Ambassador Mostafa Bouh equally lauded the recent inscription of the Ngondo festival of the Sawa people on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list on 4 December 2024.
President Paul BIYA responded with gratitude and recalled his message for more solidarity and constructive dialogue in the resolution of conflicts around the world. He reiterated Cameroon’s position for a peaceful, just, prosperous and inclusive international community.
He also expressed his profound gratitude to the Diplomatic Corps for their massive support on the election of Cameroonian-born Philemon Yang as President of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The second and last phase of the ceremony organised at the Banquet Hall opened the floor to National Dignitaries, including Members of Parliament, the judiciary, Members of Government, defence and security forces, political and religious authorities, businesspersons, trade union leaders, and staff of the Presidency of the Republic.
President Paul BIYA made a tour of the hall after the one-hour-thirty-minute event to exchange courtesies with some of the guests before his departure to the office.