Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on
Friday received the Letters of Credence of four new Ambassadors
accredited to the country and gave the assurance that the
Government was determined to ensure Ghana stayed the course of
democracy. The Government, he said, would never be the source of election
confusion and would provide the resources to make the conduct of
the December poll, free, fair and transparent. This was when the Danish Ambassador, Mr Stig Barlyng, called
at the Castle, Osu , to present the Letter accrediting him to the
country. The newly appointed Ambassador of the United States (US), Mr
Donald Gene Teitelbum, that of France, Mr Francis Hurtut, and Mr
Frederic Banguora, Guinea, also presented their Letters. President Kufuor acknowledged the support the Danish
Government has been giving to the social development and the
growth of Ghana's democracy. The European nation, he said, through the Danish Development
Agency (DANIDA), had been supportive of Ghana. Mr Barlyng, was happy with the high level of development
co-operation between Ghana and his country, which he noted, for
the past eight years had been stronger than it had ever been. He said they were eager to see the Ghanaian-Danish
Co-operation implemented in accordance with the agreed principles
for the mutual benefit of the two countries. At the turn of the US Ambassador, President Kufuor said there
was the need to make sure that the remarkably warm US-Ghana ties
were protected and nurtured. The friendship had manifested in practical support of the country
by the US and he cited the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)
assistance of 547 million dollars. Added to this, were also the state visits by US President George
Bush and that of the wife, Laura. He said Ghana would be counting on Mr Teitelbum to help build
on the relations. The Ambassador pledged to do everything to promote the deep
and positive relationship for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the
two countries. When the French Ambassador took his turn, President Kufuor
asked him to help promote causes that would broaden and deepen
Ghana-France relations. He expressed appreciation for France development assistance to
the country mentioning among them the National Identification
Project, agricultural sector and the security services. President Kufuor also welcomed the announcement by the
Ambassador that he would help to promote the spread of the
teaching and learning of French language in schools. Mr Hurtut praised Ghana's democracy and economic
performance, saying, "You are an exemplary country." President Kufuor recalled the long and warm relations between
Ghana and Guinea and asked that the two increased their level of
co-operation on the economic front, when Mr Bangoura called. He said it was time they revived their joint Permanent Economic
Co-operation to boost economic interaction and co-operation.
