President Kufuor arrives in London

London, July 4, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday arrived in London to deliver a lecture to mark the 200 years of the abolition of slavery at the Hull University in the United Kingdom (UK). It is being organised by the Wilberforce Institute, set up by the University for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela; Anti-Apartheid Campaigner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is also a Patron of the Institute; and the Renown Writer and Poet, Wole Soyinka are among key African personalities attending.

The Lecture is to honour the memory of Sir William Wilberforce, credited to have spearheaded the abolition of the slavery. Ghana like many other African countries had thousands of its citizens forcibly shipped across the Atlantic Ocean during the Slave Trade of the 17 - 19th Century.

President Kufuor, accompanied by the Foreign Minister, Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo; Secretary to the President, Ambassador D.K. Osei; Mr Andrew Awuni, the Press Secretary and other Senior Aides of the President would later pay a state visit to Brazil. This is at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The two leaders are expected to discuss ways of strengthening bilateral relations, trade and economic co-operation between their two countries.