Irina Bokova was guest of honour on September 16, 2014, at a State lunch offered by the President Paul Biya.

The visit to Cameroon of the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova reached its peak yesterday during the Official Lunch offered by the Head of State, President Paul Biya. Yesterday’s event in which the Head of State accompanied by his wife, Mrs Chantal Biya played host to the august guest was occasion for Cameroon and UNESCO to review long standing relations between the two entities.

It took two ceremonies for President Biya and Irina Bokova to oil relations between Cameroon and UNESCO. The mid-day events kicked off with an audience that went on for over one hour during which the Head of State honoured the UNESCO boss with the Grand Officer of the National Order of Valour.  The second event, the Official Lunch offered by President Biya and wife, Chantal Biya gave the two personalities another occasion to x-ray the milestone covered since Cameroon established relations with UNESCO in 1960.

During the one-hour lunch which witnessed the presence of several members of government, representatives of the diplomatic corps, and other top ranking personalities, President Biya in his toast expressed his appreciation of the role played by UNESCO in the creation, animation and functioning of the Yaounde Advanced Teacher Training College (ENS) which has just celebrated its 50 years of existence.

 It was equally occasion to hail UNESCO for all it has done to assist in the preservation, promotion, expression and enhancement of Cameroon’s culture. One of such initiative, he recalled, is the tablet produced under the auspices of UNESCO and which carries all the dances in Cameroon. To the Head of State, UNESCO with its laudable experience ought to play an important role in the face of the multiple ideological conflicts and rising tension in a World that is seriously yearning for peace.

Victory through the use of arms cannot completely guarantee sustainable peace, he said. The President greeted with satisfaction the opening in Cameroon of the UNESCO Multi Sectoral Office for Central Africa, stating that government has taken all measures to facilitate its installation and smooth functioning.

Visiting Cameroon to the UNESCO Director General is like visiting the whole of Africa. In her toast, Irina Bokova underscored that the choice of Cameroon for her visit is driven by love and history that unite both parties, recalling the fact that such history is incarnated by great figures such as Ferdinand Oyono, Rev. Father Hebga, among others and the vitality of the country’s culture portrayed by artists such as Manu Dibango.

The relations between UNESCO and Cameroon are equally incarnated in the work of the Chantal Biya International Reference Center which is very active in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Development emergencies, fight against poverty and inequality and insecurity in Central African Republic, Nigeria and risk of Ebola virus are some of the major challenges, the UNESCO boss thinks could be jointly tackled with Cameroon.