The high moment of the U.N. Secretary General’s visit was a State House audience and luncheon yesterday.

State House grounds, for most of yesterday morning wore a festive appearance: colourful water works, flower adornments, uninterrupted beautiful music played by the Presidential guard orchestra... The setting, in brief, was that of days reserved for very important guests.

It is in this beautiful décor that the visiting U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived at State House at 12 noon. President Paul Biya was personally at the State House esplanade to welcome Mr Ban Ki-moon as he stepped out of his limousine. After a lengthy greeting and exchange of niceties, the two men moved into the main hall, then took the lift to President Biya’s third floor office where they held discussions in the absence of aides for some 45 minutes. Nothing filtered from what was on the menu of their discussion, but as would be learned later from the content of two statements made at a state luncheon offered the chief UN official, issues around the reform of the U.N. Security Council could not have escaped their attention.

When the two emerged from the talks, President Biya presented members of his official entourage who took turns to formally greet Mr Ban Ki-Moon. Officials on the Cameroonian side included the Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency Laurent Esso; the Minister for External Relations Henri Eyebe Ayissi; the Minister-Director of the Civil Cabinet Martin Belinga Eboutou; the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the United Nations in New York Michel Tommo Monthe and the Ambassador-Permanent representative of Cameroon to the UN office in Geneva Anatole Nkon.

The President of the Republic then went on to decorate the U.N. Secretary General with a leading national distinction, the Grand Officer of the National Order of Valour. The two statesmen then exchanged gifts before heading one floor below to the Ambassadors’ Hall of State House where President Biya and First Lady Chantal hosted a State Luncheon for Mr Ban. Mrs Biya and Mr Ban’s wife Ban Soon Taek had joined the two men shortly before the luncheon, attended by the principal state dignitaries as the Speaker of the National Assembly Djibril Cavaye Yeguie, Prime Minister Philemon Yang, ECOSOC Chairman Luc Ayang, as well as members of government and the diplomatic corps.

Proposing a toast at the luncheon, President Biya recalled the long-standing ties between the U.N and Cameroon, recalling that it was the United Nations that led Cameroon into the baptismal waters of international sovereignty. President Biya also called on Mr Ban to be Africa’s advocate in its struggle to obtain a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council (see full speech on page 4).

In reply, the U.N. official hailed Cameroon for its stability in a troubled Central African region which contributed greatly in informing his decision to visit Cameroon. He extended his congratulations to Cameroon on the occasion of its 50th anniversary of independence and reunification and praised the government’s ongoing efforts to fight corruption and encourage good governance.

He extended the gratefulness of the UN to Cameroon which, in spite of its difficult economic situation, continues to accept refugees from neighbouring countries. The secretary-general added his statement with best wishes for the Indomitable Lions, the national football team currently engaged in the World Cup in South Africa.