Make the world aware of Ghana's success story - JAK

Accra, March 14, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has urged Ghana's development partners to tell the country's socio-economic success story to the world to help bring in more investments.

Development and growth, he said, had assumed a faster pace over the past seven years with phenomenal expansion to support a modern economy. Speaking at the annual reception for the Diplomatic Corps and Representatives of International Organizations at the Castle Gardens on Thursday, President Kufuor said there was now confidence in the economy to the extent that the country was able to raise 750 million dollars on the London Stock Exchange last year.

"The most important point is that the socio-economic successes are making an impact within the society and Ghana has already achieved ahead of schedule, the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015."

The nation, he noted, was ready in all respects for accelerated development.

President Kufuor said the country had come this far through the support and goodwill of the people and development partners. He gave the assurance that as the Government worked to achieve the various goals for the year, it would also be preparing for a smooth exit by ensuring peaceful and credible elections in December. President Kufuor acknowledged the significant part played by the international community with regard to the tremendous strides made in the country's electoral process.

He cited the support for the change over from the use of opaque ballot boxes to transparent ones and from plain voters' identity cards to picture-bearing cards.

"This is another critical election and I call on all our friends to help us again to sustain the positive trend."

President Kufuor used the occasion to pledge Ghana's continued support for initiatives of the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN) and other International bodies to deal with the threats of illicit drugs, child trafficking and proliferation of small and light weapons as well as climate change.

He acknowledged that as the world moved closer towards the global village, the country had not been spared its share of these menaces. "Every nation should therefore, make it a part of its concern to share knowledge and expertise so we are all enabled to play our respective roles in containing the various threats to global peace and security," he added.

President Kufuor, who would be ending his two-term tenure at the end of the year, expressed appreciation to the diplomatic community and representatives of development partners for the kindness and support given to his Government during difficult challenges and some glorious moments.

Mr Mohamed Mahmoud Ben Labat, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, said the confidence of both donors and development partners testified to the good handling of public accounts by the Government. He lauded President Kufuor for the efficient management of the economy, saying: "Today, your bold and courageous policies have put Ghana's economy back on track, inflation under control and stabilized currency."

Mr Labat re-affirmed the commitment of the Diplomatic Corps to work without respite to strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation, which unite Ghana and the states and institutions they represented. He was confident that this year's Presidential and Parliamentary polls would be peaceful and transparent.