Several dance groups yesterday thronged the esplanade of the Yaounde Conference Centre to give the International Economic Conference the grandeur it deserves.

The precinct of the Yaounde Conference Centre yesterday May 17, served as an epicenter of Cameroon’s cultural heritage as several dance groups from practically all the ten regions of the country converged to give the International Economic Conference the cultural touch worth the name. As early as 8 A.M, various dance groups had taken up positions at the courtyard facing the stairway into the Conference Centre where a red carpet was rolled out with magnificent flowers to welcome Cameroon’s first citizen, President Paul Biya.  

Drum beats by the different dance groups, the band of the National Institute of Youth and Sports (INJS) and supporters of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) resonated the airwaves of the Conference Centre while national dignitaries, members of the diplomatic corps and invited guests made their way into the venue. The dancers including Cameroon’s football mascot, the famous Ngando Picket and his group did not only dance with enthusiasm but also carried the national colours and the Head of State’s effigies. Among the groups was ‘road side vendors’ of the Mokolo market whom through their banner echoed their fidelity to President Paul Biya.

Apart from the dance groups, another group of INJS students lined both sides of the main entrance to the Conference Centre with flags to add to the splendor of some giant flags that adorned the premises of the Conference Centre.

When the President of the Republic, Paul Biya arrived at the Conference Centre at exactly 10:50 A.M the drum beats went even louder with the indefatigable dancer groups showing more dexterity as they struggled to outshine each other. The excitement reached fever peak when President Paul Biya lifted his right hand to wave at the population with a smile as he alighted from his Presidential Limousine. A boisterous applause from the crowd greeted the Head of State’s gesture; a sign of a symbiotic link between a leader and his people.

Amidst the boisterous atmosphere, the Centre Regional Governor, Joseph Otto Wilson, the SDO for Mfoundi, Jean Claude Tsila, the Government Delegate to the Yaounde City Council, Gilbert Tsimi Evouna, welcomed the President of the Republic. An array of photographers, camera persons from both national and international media organs struggled to get images of the Head of State as he walked into one of the auditoriums of the Conference Centre to officially open the two-day Yaounde International Economic Conference, placed under the theme “Invest in Cameroon, land of opportunities”.