Ambassadors present letters of Credence

Accra, June 13, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday received the Letters of Credence of five new Ambassadors accredited to the country at the Castle, Osu.

They are Mr. Nicholas Lang, Ambassador of Switzerland, Mr. Lars-Owe Persson, the Swedish Ambassador, Mr. Oleg Skoropad, Ambassador of Ukraine, Dr. Ferene Kato, the Hungarian Ambassador and Mr. Pierre Nguia, Ambassador of the Republic of Congo.

All, but, the Swiss Ambassador would be based in Abuja, Nigeria. President Kufuor asked Mr. Lang who was the first to call to work towards strengthening the already warm relations that has existed between Ghana and Switzerland for over 200 years. The two countries, he said, were well connected, pointing out that, Switzerland's support for Ghana's multi-donor budget, debt cancellation and assistance in the areas of education and health among others, made it a critical partner of the country.

Mr Lang conveyed his country's gratitude to President Kufuor for accepting the request by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mrs Micheline Calmy-Rey, to visit Ghana on July 10, 2007.

Switzerland, he said, would continue to stand by Ghana in its giant strides at attaining middle-income status.

He noted that despite the overall positive picture of the good economic relations between the two, more could be done to make the relations more mutually beneficial.

At the turn of Mr Persson, President Kufuor, said it was about time Sweden established a permanent presence in Ghana by opening an Embassy in Accra.

He said Ghana valued its ties with Sweden, adding that, the two shared common interests.

The Ambassador said his duty was to see more of Ghana's exports to his country and an increase in the number of Swedish tourists to the country.

The two countries have had exchange of trade delegations, an indication of their long-standing economic ties.

When the Hungarian Ambassador called, President Kufuor said there was the need for Ghana and Hungary to interact on many fronts, citing trade, industry, modernized agriculture and education. Mr Kato said his focus would be on the promotion of trade, education and cultural links between his country and Ghana. "I hope you will work to lift our relations to a higher level." President Kufuor said he was in no doubt that the already warm relations between Ghana and Congo was going to grow further, when Mr Nguia, took his turn to present his Letter.