2007 Archives
Deputy Chief of Mission Tours the Grand North
U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Richard W. Nelson and Vice Consul Linnisa Wahid toured Cameroon’s remote Grand North (Adamawa, North and Extreme North provinces), from March 11-18, calling on provincial governors and traditional leaders in each province. In Kousseri, directly across the Chari River from N’Djamena, the Sultan of Kousseri told DCM Nelson that his visit was the first from an American in the Sultan’s 52-year reign. The DCM also met with non-governmental organization and community leaders, and visited sites of several U.S. Embassy Self-Help and Food for Progress projects. In the Extreme North capital of Maroua, DCM Nelson and Vice Consul Wahid visited Meskine Hospital to update its director, an American who serves as the American citizen warden in the area, on consular issues.
In Garoua, capital of the North Province, the DCM met with Mayor Ahidjo, son of the former president, at the American Corner. Other visits in Garoua included the National Veterinary Laboratory and Central Africa’s only professional wildlife institute, Ecole de Faune de Garoua. The DCM also hosted dinner for Peace Corps volunteers from around Garoua. In Ngaoundéré, the capital of Adamawa Province, DCM Nelson met with officials as well as Fulbright scholars and other U.S. Department of State exchange program alumni at the University of Ngaoundéré. En route back to Yaoundé through the East Province, the DCM and Vice Consul Wahid were the first foreign visitors to the new camps of the Cameroon Army’s Rapid Intervention Battalions.