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General News of Thursday, 27 October 2005

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Kufuor Meets Bush

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Washington, October 26, 2005, (GHP) - President John A. Kufuor was the guest of President George W. Bush in an unofficial visit to the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.

In this previously unannounced meeting, the subject of discussion was not made public. There was no press conference, but the two posed in front of the cameras. An official press release was not available at the time of going to press.

Kufuor arrived in Washington in the United States of America, on Monday night, for a six-day official visit to promote trade, investment and tourism in Ghana. The visit marks the launch of the Ghana: Africa?s Golden Gateway trade promotion initiative, developed by The Whitaker Group.

President Kufuor?s programme released by the Ghana Mission in Washington and The Whitaker Group did not include a visit to the white house. This has led to speculation by some US political commentators that, Bush?s invitation was a ploy to take his mind of his mounting problems.

Below is an extract from the New York Times article ?Grand Jurors Hear Counsel on Leak Case?

In an apparent effort to draw attention away from the investigation [C.I.A. leak inquiry] - or at least to occupy himself as he and everyone else in the White House endured the torture of another day's wait - Mr. Bush kept to a busy schedule of meetings and appearances. He met with his ambassador to Iraq, gave a speech on the economy, sat down with the prime minister of Macedonia and invited Ghana's president in for a quick chat.

President Kufuor meets President Bush, presses for take-off of debt relief

Accra, Oct. 27, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has appealed to US President George Bush to use his influence to establish a common position between the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on the take-off date for the implementation of the debt relief package for selected African countries.
The President, who made the appeal when he conferred with President Bush on Wednesday at the White House advocated early implementation of the relief and asked for January 2006 as the effective date.
A statement issued from the Office of the President in Accra said the meeting with President Bush marked President's Kufuor's first day of the Trade and Investment mission.
It said the two leaders exchanged ideas on emerging global issues including the recent peaceful election in Liberia, development in Cote d'Ivoire and Darfur, Sudan.
President Kufuor called for more logistical support for peacekeeping missions to strengthen the hand of African leaders to fast-forward the return of normalcy to troubled spots in the West Africa Sub-Region and Africa as a whole.
On bilateral talks, the statement said the progress on the US Millennium Challenge Account, African Growth and Opportunities Act and the upcoming World Trade Organisation meeting in Hong Kong featured prominently in the discussions.
It said President Bush commended President Kufuor for his progressive leadership, which he considered useful in harmonizing outstanding security concerns in the region.
President Kufuor latter attended a launch of a tourism promotion project involving Discovery Travel Channel documentary dubbed "Ghana - The Presidential Tour".