President Wade Stops Over Again in Accra

Presidentt Abdulai Wade of Senegal on Saturday made a brief stopover in Accra on his way home after attending the 21st Session of the Franco-African Summit held in Yaounde, Cameroon. The summit attracted 25 heads of state, two Vice-Presidents as well as UN chief Kofi Annan.

On board Presidential Wade's jet was Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, and officials of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. They were met on arrival by President John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Akufo Addo, minister-designate for Chief Justice and Attorney General.

Speaking to newsmen at the airport, Vice-President Aliu said the meeting acknowledged the fact that globalisation was a reality and that Africans should get on board or stand the risk or being marginalised.

He said African states were prevailed upon to put their acts together by being committed to peace and stability, avoiding conflict and making sure that the rule of law is upheld in their respective countries.

The Vice-President said new strategies and policies must be initiated by Africans to meet the challenges of globalisation. Mr. Owusu-Agyeman said the summit was preceded by a ministerial session, which discussed issues including the bottlenecks of globalisation of Africa.

He said Ghana became the toast of the summit because of the peaceful transition from one government to another. "Ghana received special place from the UN Secretary General for exhibiting their determination to allow democratic governance to take root in the country." According to Mr. Owusu-Agyeman, the follow-up action by member states would indicate how beneficial the summit was.