Peace – Work – Fatherland MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS Peace – Work – Fatherland MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS Eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly STATEMENT BY THE HEAD OF STATE, H.E. PAUL BIYA, PRESIDENT OF THE Delivered by H.E. MBELLA MBELLA, Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Cameroon, Representative of the HEAD OF STATE New York, 26 September 2026 New York, 26 September 2026 H.E. PAUL BIYA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON, HEAD OF STATE, HAS BESTOWED UPON ME THE GREAT HONOUR OF REPRESENTING HIM AT THIS EIGHTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND OF DELIVERING TO YOU ON HIS BEHALF THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE.
I QUOTE: “MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HEADS OF DELEGATION, MR. SECRETARY-GENERAL, ALLOW ME TO CONVEY TO YOU CAMEROON’S WARM CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY OF THIS EIGHTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. YOUR EMINENT QUALITIES AS A DIPLOMAT, YOUR PROVEN KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF UNITED NATIONS AFFAIRS, AS WELL AS THE VISION YOU HAVE PROPOSED FOR OUR ORGANIZATION, AUGUR WELL FOR THE CONDUCT AND SUCCESS OF OUR WORK. THE CAMEROONIAN DELEGATION, THROUGH MY VOICE, WOULD LIKE TO ASSURE YOU OF ITS FULL AND COMPLETE COOPERATION FOR THE RESOUNDING SUCCESS OF YOUR MANDATE.
LIKewise, I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND THE ACTION OF YOUR PREDECESSOR, MS. ANNALENA BAERBOCK OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, FOR THE DEDICATION AND DYNAMISM SHE DEMONSTRATED IN THE DISCHARGE OF HER MISSION, AND THIS, IN A PERIOD PARTICULARLY TURBULENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE.
LASTLY, I TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REITERATE TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, MR. ANTÓNIO GUTERRES, CAMEROON’S HIGH APPRECIATION FOR HIS CONSTANT COMMITMENT TO THE IDEALS, PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE Charter of the United Nations, AS WELL AS FOR THE HIGHLY COMMENDABLE EFFORTS AND RESULTS THAT MARKED HIS TWO CONSECUTIVE TERMS AS SECRETARY-GENERAL OF OUR ORGANIZATION. WE WISH TO SALUTE HIS COURAGE AND PERSEVERANCE IN A SOMETIMES DIFFICULT CONTEXT.
AT A TIME WHEN, IN A FEW MONTHS, HE IS PREPARING TO LEAVE HIS HIGH OFFICE, CAMEROON THANKS HIM FOR HIS TIRELESS SELFLESSNESS AT THE HEAD OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND PAYS HIM TRIBUTE FOR THE IMMENSITY OF HIS WORK.
YOU HAVE SEEN FIT TO PLACE THIS SESSION UNDER THE REFERENCE THEME AIMED AT RESTORING TRUST, MANAGING TRANSFORMATION FOR A UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION THAT DELIVERS RESULTS FOR ALL. CAMEROON APPRECIATES THE RELEVANCE OF THIS THEME AND ITS ACUTENESS IN THE CURRENT CONTEXT.
WE ARE INDEED FACING, TOGETHER, THREE INSEPARABLE IMPERATIVES: FIRST, RESTORING TRUST AMONG STATES; SECOND, RECONCILING PEOPLES AND NATIONS WITH MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS; AND THIRD, ENSURING THAT RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES SERVE ALL HUMANITY.
WE ARE LIVING INDEED IN AN AGE IN WHICH THE FEATS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HAVE MADE POSSIBLE AN IMPRESSIVE FLOWERING OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, SUCH AS THE CURRENT EMERGENCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO ADDRESS THE MULTIPLE CHALLENGES FACING HUMANITY.
OVER THE RECENT DECADES, WE HAVE ADOPTED AGREEMENTS IN DIFFERENT FIELDS AND HAVE CONTINUED TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR A MORE JUST WORLD IN WHICH ALL MAY LIVE IN PEACE AND SECURITY.
HOWEVER, DESPITE OUR EFFORTS, WARS AND CONFLICTS OF ALL KINDS PERSIST. THE ARMS RACE IS INTENSIFYING. HUMANITARIAN DISASTERS, SELFISHNESS AND INTOLERANCE ARE INCREASINGLY PRESENT. WE ARE WITNESSING, POWERLESSLY, THE DECLINE OF INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AND MULTILATERALISM IN THE FACE OF THE RISE OF BLOCS CLASHING OVER ISSUES THAT CONSOLIDATE THEIR SPECIFIC INTERESTS. IT IS TIME TO RETURN TO THE VERY SPIRIT AND FOUNDATIONS OF THE Charter of the United Nations.
AT THE SAME TIME, CLIMATE DISRUPTION IS WORSENING AND CONSTITUTES A PLANETARY CONCERN. FLOODS, DROUGHT AND FOREST FIRES ARE RECURRENT AND SPARE NO REGION OF THE WORLD. THESE PHENOMENA DEPRIVE MANY POPULATIONS OF THE BENEFITS THEY COULD LEGITIMATELY HAVE DRAWN FROM THE PRODIGIOUS TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS ACHIEVED.
FACED WITH SUCH A SITUATION, IT IS THE DUTY OF US ALL TO WORK TOGETHER TO MEET THESE CHALLENGES AND RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF OUR PEOPLES. THE UNITED NATIONS OFFERS US, IN THIS REGARD, AN IDEAL FRAMEWORK FOR DISCUSSION AND COMPROMISE TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO THESE CHALLENGES THAT CONFRONT US ALL.
CAMEROON IS FIRMLY COMMITTED TO THIS PATH AND SUPPORTS THE UN80 INITIATIVE, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER APPROACH THAT CONTRIBUTES TO STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND SOLIDARITY.
WITH ONLY A FEW YEARS LEFT BEFORE THE DEADLINE OF THE 2030 AGENDA, WE CAN SEE, DESPITE REMARKABLE EFFORTS, THAT PROGRESS STILL NEEDS TO BE MADE TO ACHIEVE THE Sustainable Development Goals WE HAVE SET FOR OURSELVES. THE RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE THIS ARE, HOWEVER, AVAILABLE ON A GLOBAL SCALE. IT THEREFORE FALLS TO US TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS FOR THEIR ACCESS AND USE.
IN THIS REGARD, DEVELOPMENT FINANCING SHOULD NOT BE REGARDED AS AN ACT OF CHARITY. IT CONSTITUTES AN INVESTMENT IN STABILITY, SHARED PROSPERITY AND COLLECTIVE SECURITY.
THAT IS WHY CAMEROON CALLS FOR THE PROMPT AND FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMITMENTS MADE IN SEVILLE IN JULY 2025 ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT. THIS IMPLIES, IN PARTICULAR, THE NECESSARY UNDERTAKING OF A REFORM OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND MULTILATERAL FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE TO GIVE A FAIRER PLACE TO THE COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH.
WE MUST ALSO GIVE NEW IMPETUS TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INDUSTRIALIZATION, THE LOCAL PROCESSING OF RAW MATERIALS AND THE STRENGTHENING OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION.
IT WAS INDEED THIS DYNAMIC THAT GUIDED THE WORK OF THE FOURTEENTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, WHICH CAMEROON HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF HOSTING FROM 26 TO 29 MARCH 2026.
CAMEROON ALSO INTENDS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE FULL EXPANSION OF THE African Continental Free Trade Area, ACRONYM AfCFTA, OF WHICH IT IS AMONG THE FIRST COUNTRIES ON THE CONTINENT TO HAVE RATIFIED THE STATUTES, IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN INTRA-AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE COOPERATION.
MOREOVER, MY COUNTRY REITERATES ITS SOLIDARITY IN SUPPORT OF THE COMMON POSITION OF THE AFRICAN UNION FOR BETTER REPRESENTATION OF AFRICA WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL.
ALSO, MY COUNTRY INTENDS TO MAINTAIN ITS PARTICIPATION IN UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, IN THE TRAINING AND CAPACITY-BUILDING OF AFRICAN PERSONNEL CALLED UPON TO SERVE IN THEM. IN THIS REGARD, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME THE EXEMPLARY COOPERATION THAT CAMEROON MAINTAINS WITH THE UNITED NATIONS IN THIS AREA. IN SO DOING, IT REAFFIRMS THE DETERMINATION WITH WHICH IT WILL UNSWERVINGLY PURSUE, WITH THE MEMBER STATES OF the Lake Chad Basin Commission, THE UNRELENTING FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM AND THE STABILIZATION EFFORTS IN THE AREAS AFFECTED AROUND LAKE CHAD.
AT THE DOMESTIC LEVEL, THE GOVERNMENT OF MY COUNTRY IS WORKING TOWARDS A RETURN TO A NORMAL SITUATION IN THE NORTH-WEST AND SOUTH-WEST REGIONS. THE GOVERNMENT’S EFFORTS TO COMBAT INSECURITY AND TO ACHIEVE THE SOCIAL REINTEGRATION OF PERSONS WILLING TO RENOUNCE VIOLENCE HAVE ALREADY PRODUCED TANGIBLE AND OBSERVABLE RESULTS ON THE GROUND. IT SHOULD BE EMPHASIZED THAT THE CAMEROONIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE CEASELESSLY MULTIPLIED AND CONSOLIDATED THESE RESULTS.
I CAN ASSURE YOU OF CAMEROON’S CONSTANT COMMITMENT TO SOLIDARITY FOR DISPLACED POPULATIONS, REFUGEES AND HOST COMMUNITIES, DESPITE THE MULTIPLE AND SIGNIFICANT CONSTRAINTS ARISING THEREFROM.
IN AN INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE WORLD, WE MUST DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO CREATE CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO PEACE, SECURITY AND THE STABILITY OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT WITH A VIEW TO ENSURING THE WELL-BEING OF ALL. WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. LET US THEREFORE POOL AND COMBINE OUR RESOURCES TO MEET THIS COMMON CHALLENGE TOGETHER, IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO THE UNCEASING CALLS OF OUR PEOPLES, WHO ASPIRE ONLY TO LIVE IN A WORLD OF PEACE, SECURITY AND PROSPERITY FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
I THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION.”
END OF QUOTATION. /-