Rawlings arrives in Japan

Accra, (Greater Accra) 19 Oct. '98 President Jerry John Rawlings has arrives in Tokyo, Japan today at the head of a government delegation attending the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) 11. The tour of the delegation which include the Foreign Minister, Mr James Victor Gbeho and the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Victor Selormey is at the invitation of the Japanese Government.

The President and his entourage arrived in London on Saturday and held a meeting with the heads of Ghana's parastatals in the UK on Sunday at the residence of Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK.

The Tokyo conference which takes place between today and Wednesday 21 October, is being sponsored by the United Nations and the Global Coalition for Africa.

It will discuss among other issues, poverty alleviation in Africa and also find ways of improving the economy of member states. What is significance about the conference is that donor nations and agencies will sit at a round table with recipient countries and draw up priorities of tackling poverty on the continent.

President Rawlings is expected to chair a meeting of the Social Committee which deals with education, health and human development. He will also act as a spokesman for Africa and address the conference on behalf of the continent in recognition of the important role he has been playing in the sub-region.

President Rawlings was seen off in Accra by the Vice-President, Prof John Evans Atta Mills, Ministers of State, Chief of Defence Staff, Lt- Gen. Ben Akafia and the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Elichi Suzuki. GRi