State House : Celebrating Fraternity, Bonding Stronger

Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Chargés d’Affaires and heads of international organisations accredited to Cameroon as well as Cameroonians who hold positions of dignity and honour at the national level have shared best moments with the leader of the country’s diplomacy and Head of State, Paul Biya, pledging to each redouble efforts in all they do.

The traditional New Year Wishes ceremony to the President of the Republic at the State House yesterday January 8, 2026 served as an ideal opportunity to jointly chart a way forward in national and international life where all should work for com- mon good and in mutual respect.

Like in previous years, the splendour of Cameroon and the hospitability of its people were fully on display to give the Head of State’s guests the pleasantness of sharing New Year wishes with the highest au- thority of the land. Indeed, the Ambassador’s Hall that played host to members of the diplomatic corps earlier and later the Banquet Hall of the Presidency of the Republic; wherein the Head of State exchanged 2026 New Year wishes with national dignitaries; were all dressed in the colour of the day.

The beauty of the one country under one leader was transcended in the décor and the full-drawn deployment of the State Protocol made the two-phase colourful and crowd-pulling ceremony memorable to the attendees. The order set in the ceremonial ground spread to the guests who wholly respected their respective time of arrival. The Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Chargés d’Af- faires and representatives of inter- national organisations entirely kept to the official arrival time from 1:45 - 2:25pm. Led by the State Protocol, each diplomat was welcomed and ushered to his or her already labelled seat. A forum that also united the diplomats serving in Cameroon as they could be seen chatting among themselves before the arrival of the host for the day’s business.

President Paul Biya’s entry into the ceremonial hall set the ball rolling for almost an hour of diplomatic exchanges through speeches, hands- hakes, smiles and brief sharing of pleasantries. On behalf of the Resi- dent Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Chargés d’Affaires and heads of diplomatic organisations, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea to Cameroon, Armando Kote Echuaca, congratula- ted President Paul Biya on his re- election. He pledged his support and that of his peers for Mr Biya to materialise his electoral promises for a better Cameroon. The Equato- Guinean diplomat equally saluted Cameroon’s vibrant diplomacy under the Head of State, highlighting what he termed the brilliance with which Cameroon’s Philemon Yang piloted the affairs of the 79th session of the United Nation’s General Assem- bly in New York. In response, President Paul Biya made a round of global happenings which leave diverse impacts on the life of man and his environment. The Head of State reiterated that; “My country's commitment to deve- lopment, peace and harmony among peoples, and to defending the various causes that concern the survival of humanity, will never waver. Came- roon will continue to play its full role in the concert of nations.” Evi- dence, he said, is that Cameroon will host the 14th Ministerial Confe- rence on the World Trade Organiza- tion this year. This will be another opportunity to extol the virtues of multilateralism, at a time when the tempta...