State House : Five Ambassadors Present Letters Of Credence

Cameroon’s State House Friday witnessed intense diplomatic activities with the presentation of Letters of Credence by five Ambassadors assigned to Cameroon by their respective countries. The Ambassadors of Equatorial Guinea, South Korea, Belgium, Tunisia and Turkey took turns to present to Cameroon’s Head of State, Paul Biya, letters calling back their predecessors and designating them to the country in a solemn and highly symbolic ceremony. The five diplomats went to the Unity Palace as Ambassadors designate and left as plenipotentiaries; complete and authoritative representatives of their countries in Cameroon. 
The sunny afternoon coupled with the décor, reminiscent of Cameroon’s legendary hospitality and worthy of the diplomats and the countries they represent, made the solemn ceremony grandiose. The novelty this time around was the fact that the different diplomats arrived at the State House in quick succession, were ushered into the third-floor office of the Head of State and led to present their Letters of Credence to President Paul Biya the way they came. 
The ball of arrivals and then the presentations was set rolling by Armando Kote Echuaca of Equatorial Guinea. He arrived at the State House at 2 pm, was received by the State Protocol, and inspected the guard of honour mounted for them under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Kalkibe Patale, Commander of the Honour Group of the elite corps with music from the Presidential Guard Band before moving up to present the letter calling his predecessor and designating him to Cameroon’s Chief Executive, Paul Biya. The same exercise was repeated in that order by Kim Jonghan, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Eric Jacquemin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, Mohamed Karim Ben Becher, Ambassor of the Republic of Tunisia and Volkan Isikci, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey. Each of them was welcome to the State House by Cameroon’s national anthem and seen off by their respective national anthems. An indication that they now have full powers and the blessings of he who incarnates the laws and institutions of Cameroon to carry out their assignments. 
Far from being a simple tradition in diplomatic circles for Ambassadors-designate to present their Letters of Credence to the highest authority of the land where they are sent, Friday’s ceremony at Unity Palace was also an opportunity for President Paul Biya to...