Lack of goodwill is the bane on Ivorian peace talks - JAK

Accra, Aug.11, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday said a stumbling-block to the Ivorian peace talks was the lack of goodwill on all sides to come together to move that nation forward. He expressed the hope that all the parties would come together to push their nation ahead and re-unite the country for development. President Kufuor made the observation when Mr Sery Bailly, Member of Parliament and former Minister of Education in Cote d'Ivoire delivered a special message from the Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo to him at the Castle, Osu.
The message was to express the gratitude and appreciation of the Government and people of Cote D'Ivoire to the Government and people of Ghana for their patience and determination to ensure that peace returned to Cote d'Ivoire.
President Kufuor said " we thank God that things are returning to normal and all the parties and personalities are coming back to the Transitional Government for peace to return".
He thanked President Gbagbo and the Ivorians for appreciating the efforts of their sister country - Ghana. He likened the relation between both countries to that of twins, where the fortunes of one automatically affected the other, saying that a peaceful and prosperous Cote d'Ivoire could be the heartbeat of the West Africa Sub-Region.
Mr Bailly said decisions taken at the ACCRA III meeting on Cote d'Ivoire were being implemented and expressed the hope that peace would return to that country soon.
He said President Kufuor needed special commendation for his contribution towards maintaining peace within the Sub-Region, adding: "You are a great Statesman of great stature. We are all happy that you have the patience for us during all our deliberations and we hope you will be with us when peace returns to Cote d'Ivoire".