UK Prime Minister and EC President salute Kufuor

Accra, Feb. 22, GNA - The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and the European Commission President, Jos=E9 Manuel Barroso have paid tribute to President John Agyekum Kufuor for his achievements as Chairman of the African Union.

In separate messages, they said the one-year Presidency, the first for Ghana in over four decades, marked a turning point in key areas of the continental body, adding that President Kufuor's leadership made an important difference.

An official statement released by Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to President Kufuor said the British Prime Minister in particular mentioned the successful integration of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) into the AU and lauded the AU's increasing readiness to find African solutions to African issues, citing Kenya, as evidence of AU's transformation under President Kufuor's term.

Mr Barroso said Africa had been a focal point of the international political agenda in recent years and it was remarkable that much of the African news, elections, investment and political leadership in the year 2007 was good news.

He credited President Kufuor with this development and emphasized that the year was a special one for EU-Africa relations.

Mr Barroso added that President Kufuor's personal commitment accounted for the organization of the long awaited EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon last December, which is a boost for partnership.