President Mills returns from Abuja
Accra, June 23 GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills
returned home on Tuesday from Abuja, Nigeria, where he
attended the 36th summit of heads of state and governments
of ECOWAS as well as that of a West Africa Monetary Zone.
President Mills also held talk with Nigerian President Umaru
Yar’ Adua.
Speaking to journalists at the airport, Alhaji Muhammad
Mummuni, Minster of Foreign Affairs and Regional
Integration, said President Mills held discussions with his
Nigerian counterpart on bilateral issues such as the supply
of crude oil and the need to deepen existing ties between
the two countries.
The two presidents called for closer collaboration between
Ghana and Nigeria especially in the areas of trade and
commerce, the Foreign Minister said.
Alhaji Mummuni said at the ECOWAS summit the heads of state
reviewed happenings in the sub-region especially in the
areas of peace, security, democracy and governance.
He said the security situation in Niger, Guinea, Guinea
Bissau and Cote d’Ivoire were high on agenda.
The Foreign Minister said the summit urged political leaders
in Niger to help maintain the peace in the country and
ensure that the rule of law did not break down.
On Guinea Bissau the heads of state expressed regret at the
assassination of the President and called for the
restoration of peace to Guinea Bissau. They also called on
the authorities in that country to organize democratic
elections as soon as possible.
The Foreign Minister said a donor’s conference on Guinea
Bissau had been scheduled for Abuja as soon as elections
were held in that country.
He said the summit expressed satisfaction with Cote
d’Ivoire’s political situation which had become stable
enough for the holding of elections later this year.
The Foreign Minister said the summit also looked at
infrastructural development in West Africa and established
an infrastructure fund to finance development in areas of
railway, maritime, air transport and road construction in
the sub-region.
A special summit was also held between ECOWAS and Spain on
democratic governance during which they discussed ways of
strengthening democracy in the sub-region.
He said Spain also pledged 240 million Euros towards the
eradication of human and drug trafficking in West Africa as
well as 15 million Euros towards the West African
Infrastructural Fund.
At the airport to meet president Mills were Vice President
John Dramani Mahama, Ministers of state, the Chief of
Defence Staff, Maj-Gen. Peter Blay and the Inspector General
of Police, Mr Paul Quaye.
GNA
