Vice-president in New York for UN General Assembly meeting

The Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama left Accra on Thursday night for New York to attend the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly which opens on Saturday November 10.

The General Assembly, which was originally scheduled for the end of September, had to be postponed due to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, a statement signed by Andrew Awuni, Office of the Vice President, said on Thursday.

It said the Session would consider a wide range of global issues including disarmament, a report of the Economic and Social Council, the external debt crisis and development and the implementation of the UN first decade for the eradication of poverty.

"This assembly is the first after the re-election of Ghana's Kofi Annan as Secretary General to the UN for the second term," the statement said.

It said the vice president would use the opportunity to thank member states of the UN for reposing their trust and the destiny of the UN in the hands of Mr Annan. Alhaji Aliu is due back home on November 14.