President Mills pledges commitment to peace as he meets President Obama

President John Evans Atta Mills on Thursday met with US President Barack Obama at the White House and assured the American President of his commitment to peace and avoidance of conflicts to propel Ghana’s development.

President Mills, who is on a State visit to the USA, said peace was a requisite for democracy, and stressed that, “we should do the things that will ensure that there is peace and that there is no room for conflicts”.

President Mills is in the US at the invitation of President Obama, who in July 2009, visited Ghana as the first country south of the Sahara after he assumed power that year, because of Ghana’s track record of democracy.

In a press conference after the meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to increase the bond of friendship between Accra and Washington.

President Mills said the singling out of Ghana for the July 2009 visit inspired Ghanaians.

He thanked President Obama, the Government and people of the US for their help and support for Ghana over the years.

The Ghanaian Head of State reiterated his message to political leaders that they were in power to use the resources of the State to satisfy the burning desire of the people to see improvement in their daily lives.

Describing the US as a model, President Mills expressed happiness that the two nations were co-operating with one another on all kinds of fronts with positive dividends.

He singled out the M1 Highway in Accra constructed with funds provided under the Millennium Challenge Authority (MCA), saying, it brought joy on the faces of Ghanaians because there had been a radical transformation in their lives.

“I mean, that is what governance is all about — to see people happy because they now have what they did not have,” President Mills said.

President Mills assured President Obama of peaceful polls in the December 2012 Elections, explaining that election conflicts did not make political leaders suffer but rather the ordinary people who elected leaders into office.

He gave the assurance that Ghana would maintain a clean sheet and keep a track record of peaceful elections, and said that both nations would come out of their general elections safely.

He stated: “So we have a big challenge, and we know that some of our friends in Africa are looking up to us, and we dare not fail them. I have no doubt at all that we have embarked on a useful journey.

“I told you that both of us are facing elections, but our ships will be able to sail safely to their final destination, I want to assure you."

President Obama for his part, called for a shift from the challenges in Africa to the “good news that is coming from Africa”.

Acknowledging Ghana as a country that had established itself as a “source of good a news story,” and a model for the Continent in terms of democratic practices, President Obama praised the efforts of President Mills to ensure free and fair elections, root out corruption, increase transparency and making sure that the government was working for the people.

President Obama also praised his counterpart for prudent measures that had made Ghana become a wonderful success story economically on the continent, noting that, there were high growth rates over the last several years, while food productivity and food security were up.

There has also been strong foreign investment, and the Mills Administration is collaborating with a number of American businesses to build infrastructure inside of Ghana in order to create jobs for the people.

President Obama also lauded the Mills Administration for helping to enhance human rights.