Five new envoys accredited to Ghana yesterday presented their letters of credence to the President, Mr J. A. Kufuor at the Castle, Osu.

They are the Italian Ambassador, Mr Giancarlo Izzo; the Beninois Ambassador, Mr Pierre Desire Sadeler; the Jamaican High Commissior, Mr Carl Marshall; the Mauritanian Ambassador, Mr Tijani Kerim and the Australian High Commissioner, Mr Robert Whitty.

President Kufuor congratulated the envoys on their appointments and expressed the hope that their tour of duty would witness marked improvement in the cooperation between Ghana and their respective countries. The Italian Ambassador, Mr Izzo, who was the first to call praised Ghana for conducting an election that he said has won a lot of commendation.

He said the Italian Government would soon finalise an agreement with Ghana for the promotion and protection of investment and double taxation as part of measures to foster Italian direct investments in Ghana. In response, President Kufuor described Italy as an important development partner and urges the envoy not to spare any effort at further deepening the already positive relationship which the two countries enjoy.

The Jamaican Ambassador, Mr Marshall, on his part expressed the hope that the ties between Jamaica and Ghana would continue to blossom. President Kufuor noted that Ghana and Jamaica share concerns on global issues of economic development, hence the need for both countries to constantly consult each other in the spirit of South-South co-operation. In a brief remark to the Australian High Commissioner, Mr Whitty, President Kufuor urges him to encourage Australian investor to enter into partnership with Ghanaian entrepreneurs to boost private sector development.

The Beninois Ambassador, Mr Sadeler, on his part lauded President Kufuor for promoting good neighbourliness in the sub-region and for his support for regional integration. In his reply President Kufuor said the African continent continues to be plagued with a myriad of problems which demand that Africans pool their efforts and energies to work towards their elimination.

The President enjoined the Mauritanian Ambassador, Mr Kerim, to ensure the promotion of relations between the two countries when the ambassador called on him. In this regard, President Kufuor called for the reconvening of the Permanent Joint Commission for Economic Co-operation that has not met since its inaugural session in Accra in August 1988.