Paul Biya and wife leave Yaounde for Paris

Cameroon's presidential couple have left for the French capital not to participate in the three days of national mourning declared by French president Francois Hollande, but to honour the invitation of the Bulgarian Irina Bokova, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Guests of Irina Bokova will join in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of UNESCO from Monday, November 16 to Wednesday, November 18, 2015. The Forum of leaders of member states, which Paul Biya will partake, will be held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris between Monday 16 and Tuesday, November 17, 2015.

"This high-level meeting will be reserved for speeches by Heads of State and Government of Member States who will be invited to express their views and their vision for UNESCO and its place on the international scene today and tomorrow while the organization celebrates 70 years of action with the international community looking at the post-2015 sustainable development program," said a statement published by UNESCO on its website.

Thus, despite the tragedy that occurred two days ago in the French capital, the meeting will be held. It will also be under high security according to organizers. This commitment came as a result of a message of condolence and solidarity addressed to the French people by the Director-General of Unesco. "On behalf of UNESCO and on my own behalf, I want to express to the French people and to all who are bereaved by these barbaric acts, my deepest condolences. This crime affects us all, and it is an attack against humanity as a whole. Less than a year after the attacks in January and several recent attacks in many parts of the world, violent extremism sought again to strike at the heart of living and in places of conviviality and assembly, cafes, stadiums, venues, which are also places of culture in a city that is the symbolic worldwide. At a time when UNESCO and the United Nations, created in the aftermath of the war, celebrate their 70th anniversary, this crime reflects the most horrible new faces of violence that knows no borders and can hit anywhere. This hatred moreover calls all more than ever to reaffirm the values ??of peace, dialogue and compassion, and stand against barbarism. UNESCO will do its utmost to support France, the host state, in this event," wrote Irina Bokova.