The Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA granted audience to Samantha POWER, the Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations on Tuesday 19 April 2016 at Unity Palace.

 For over two hours, the President of the Republic and the American diplomat reviewed the dense and fruitful cooperation ties between the United States and Cameroon and many other international issues of common interest.

Speaking to the press after the long audience, Samantha POWER said that the discussions were mostly related to the strengthening of bilateral cooperation. She indicated that she was accompanied by a delegation of thirteen officials from the military, State Department and USAID, an indication of the scope of the progress of cooperation between the two countries.

The American diplomat affirmed that discussions also included the Boko Haram insurgency and stated that both parties were of the opinion that the situation cannot be resolved only by military action. It was therefore agreed that concerted effort will be made to make the entire region economically viable. She pledged American support while calling on all stakeholders to respect the human rights of those living in the affected areas.

Samantha POWER also called for more channels of communication between the Government and the civil society organisations in Cameroon and praised the efforts being carried out to fight climate change.