Accra, Nov. 4, GNA - Ghana and La Cote d'Ivoire on Wednesday expressed appreciation on arrangements towards the forthcoming elections in La Cote d'Ivoire this year. They stressed the need for national reconciliation to ensure peaceful elections.

"National reconciliation is a necessity for peaceful elections to enhance the credibility of democratic process in the West African Sub-region," President John Atta Mills of Ghana and President Laurent Koudou Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire said in a joint communiqu=E9 issued in Accra.

This was at the end of a two-day official visit by President Gbagbo to Ghana. President Mills commended the leadership in Cote d'Ivoire for the significant progress towards national reconciliation and pledged Ghana's commitment to support the democratic process. The communiqu=E9 jointly signed by Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni and his Ivorian counterpart Yossouf Bakayoko, expressed the re-assurance of President Gbagbo to organise a free, democratic and transparent elections.

President Mills and President Gbagbo agreed on the need for the re-activation of the Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation to provide an effective framework for the conduct and monitoring of mutually beneficial co-operation between both countries. They directed the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries to take the necessary steps to convene the ninth Session of the Joint Commission in Accra within the second quarter of 2010.

The last meeting was held in Abidjan in 1997.

The two leaders urged the relevant agencies to continue with their deliberations for the early delineation of their common maritime boundary, having already defined the land border.

They acknowledged that the neighbouring countries were major producers of cocoa and coffee and agreed on closer collaboration to defend their positions as leading producers and fight against smuggling of the commodities.

The communiqu=E9 reaffirmed their support for the decision of the International Cocoa and Coffee Organisation to transfer its headquarters, now in London to Abidjan.

They also agreed to develop closer collaboration in agriculture, mines and energy.

On sub-regional issues, they expressed concern at the political situations in Guinea and Niger and urged the leadership of those countries to desist from actions which would undermine the national democratic processes and escalate the tension.

They called on the leaders to restore normalcy and evolve sound development policies for their people.

They renewed their commitment to the objectives and ideals of ECOWAS=

and the African Union and underscored the importance of achieving unity, socio-economic, political and cultural integration on the continent, to overcome vulnerabilities of individual nations confronted by the challenges of globalisation. They expressed concern about the continued erratic commodity prices and the adverse effect of the global financial crisis on their respective economies. They reaffirmed their commitment to meet frequently to strengthen the bonds of friendship and co-operation between both countries.