President Paul Biya and wife, Chantal attended the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly yesterday in New York. Over 30 world leaders took to the stage at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly yesterday during the opening of the 64th Session of debate chaired by Ali Abdussalam Treki, President of the session who is Libyan Secretary (Minister) of African Union Affairs. President Paul Biya and wife, Chantal Biya with part of the President??s entourage to New York attended the opening sessions that featured keynote speeches like the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the
organisation and the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, who was addressing the UN General Assembly for the first time ever. In a moving speech that drew a standing ovation from his peers, giving the president of the session tough time to calm other Heads of State in their acclamations, President Barack Obama, second Head of State to talk for the day, outlined American position on world issues noting that there is a significant change in US policy within the past nine months of his regime. ??I took over office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with scepticism and distrust??, he said, noting that although he will never apologise for defending American interests like all world leaders do for their countries, he had the conviction that all nations ??must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interests and mutual respect.?? Amidst great applause, he reaffirmed his commitment towards forging a lasting peace in the Middle East based on the near truism that the price for the Middle East conflict is not paid by politicians, but by innocent women and children. ??We must remember that the greatest price of this conflict is not paid by us. It is paid by the Israeli girl in Sderot who closes her eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the night. It is paid by the Palestinian boy in Gaza who has no clean water and no country to call his own. These are God??s children??, Obama insisted. The urgency and pragmatism in President Barack Obama??s tone matched earlier declarations by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who in his report entitled « Now Is Our Time » stressed on the importance of UN member countries to be purposeful in handling global challenges more than ever before. ??This year this opening of the General Debate of the 64th session of the General Assembly asks us to rise to an exceptional moment. Amid many crises ?? food, energy, recession and pandemic flu, hitting all at once ?? the world looks to us for answers. If ever there were a time to act in a spirit of renewed multilateralism ?? a moment to create a United Nations of genuine collective action — it is now??, he said. Other key speakers at the opening session included Libyan Leader, Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, and Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. President Biya??s Commitments Apart from keenly following deliberations at the UN General Assembly yesterday, President Paul Biya joined over 20 African leaders at a lunch offered Tuesday by US President Barack Obama. Although the gathering took place behind closed doors, inside sources said it was a convivial meeting that set out policy desires by the United States on the one hand and the African leaders on the other. Focus was on the creation of jobs, especially for the youths, agriculture and agric productivity. While recalling the objectives of his government toward Africa, President Obama said the future of the continent lies in the hands of its people but expressed the hope to see close partnership between Africa and America. The African leaders also reportedly wished for an institutionalised forum for both continents to meet regularly and discuss common issues. A wish Obama asked his collaborators to note adding that it would be effected step-by-step. Also present at the lunch were US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, US Permanent Representative to the UN, Suzane Rice among others. Cameroon equally made a key contribution to the high-level Summit on Climate Change through a speech delivered by the Minister of the Environment and Nature Protection, Hele Pierre later in the afternoon on September 22. Debates continue today at the UN General Assembly with scores of other Heads of State and governments scheduled to speak. President Paul Biya is also scheduled to take Cameroon??s aspirations about today??s world agenda to the UN before the end of the week.Richard KWANG KOMETA, CT
