Accra, March 22, GNA - The outgoing Ambassadors of Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday paid farewell calls on President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu. Mr Ekram Zaafarani, the Egyptian Ambassador and Mr Mohamed Reda Abual-Hamayel, the Saudi Ambassador, are both leaving the country at the end of their four-year duty tour.

President Kufuor asked Mr Abual-Hamayel to serve as an advocate for Ghana and to help to sell the country's tremendous business opportunities and friendly investment environment to the Saudi business community. He said Ghana was peaceful and poised for accelerated growth and that investors were assured of good returns on their money. President Kufuor, who expressed appreciation to the Saudi Government, for its social support particularly for educational institutions in the Northern parts of the country, said there were greater prospects for improving the friendly and bi-lateral ties between the two countries. He praised the Ambassador for his successful tenure and said the Government and people of Ghana would continue to remember him.

Mr Abual-Hamayel said he was grateful for the support and hospitality he enjoyed during his four-year stay in the country. He said his country had a lot of respect for and trust in Ghana and, therefore, attached importance to the relationship between the two countries that had existed for 46 years. Earlier, President Kufuor had congratulated Mr Zaafarani, for conducting himself well, freely mixing with society and helping to strengthen the relations between his country and Ghana. He noted the frontline role Ghana and Egypt played with regard to the Organisation of the African Unity (OAU) and the Non-Aligned Movement. He also spoke of the great modernization and agricultural development that had taken place in Egypt and said Ghana through its ties with her could benefit from their experience. President Kufuor asked him to convey his thanks to the Egyptian Government for the scholarship awarded to some Ghanaian students. The President presented to the Ambassadors, traditional stools.