Cameroon lobbied to vote Kosovo into UNESCO

The Ambassadors of Germany and the United States of America, the British High Commissioner to Cameroon as well as the First Adviser in the French Embassy in Yaounde, met with the Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella yesterday, November 9, 2015 in Yaounde to convince Cameroon to vote for Kosovo’s admission into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO.

Speaking to the press after the audience, the German Ambassador, His Excellency Holger Mahnicke, said the admission of the former Serbian State, Kosovo, was on the agenda of the UNESCO General Conference that was also holding yesterday in Paris, France.

“We met the Minister to convince him that even though Cameroon has not yet recognised Kosovo as a sovereign State, it is important to vote for its admission because there are cultural treasures of the Serbian Orthodox Church which will be protected once Kosovo gains UNESCO membership,” he explained. As at press time, UNESCO rejected Kosovo’s membership.

In the course of the day, Minister Mbella Mbella also received courtesy visits from Ambassadors Samuela Isopi of Italy, H.E. Sherif Salah Eldin of Egypt and H.E. Lahcen Saile of Morocco.

In the same vein, Ambassador Vincent Badji of Senegal and Ambassador Gisele Bouanga-Kalou of the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) also congratulated Lejeune Mbella Mbella on his appointment as Minister of External Relations.