The Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA granted two audiences on Monday 5th May 2014, to the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fumio KISHIDA, and to the President of FIFA, Sepp BLATTER.

The Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs led a delegation of over 15 members to Unity Palace today morning for the audience with President Paul BIYA. He told the press at the end of the audience that he came to pay a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic as he is in Yaoundé to hold a follow up meeting with African Ministers on the TICAD V, the forum that brought together African countries and Japan.

Fumio KISHIDA reminded the press that Japan and Cameroon had very cordial cooperation ties, with the highlight being the construction of 300 Japanese schools in Cameroon for a total of 1 500 classrooms. He indicated that the Head of State was really happy with the level of cooperation between our two countries.

For his part, Sepp BLATTER, who was received by the President of the Republic in the early afternoon, revealed that his discussions with President Paul BIYA had been mostly related to football. He hailed the contribution of football to the social and cultural progress of the world, citing places such as Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine where football matches are being played despite the violence and problems that these countries are facing. 

The President of FIFA was optimistic about the future of football in Cameroon, especially as he had had confirmation that two major stadiums will be built in Douala and Yaoundé and three smaller ones in other towns, in view of the fact that Cameroon is postulating to host the African Cup of Nations in 1919 and the female version of the tournament in 1917.

The participation of the Lions in the World Cup in Brazil was also discussed, as he said the President of the Republic was optimistic that the Lions will be truly Indomitable in Brazil.