Accra, Sept. 3, GNA - The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), a German NGO in governance, on Tuesday held a ceremony to mark its 40th anniversary celebration in Ghana.

The occasion was also used to bid farewell to the organisation's outgoing Resident Director, while welcoming her successor to the country.

Ms Kathrin Meisser, the outgoing Resident Director, has been assigned to Zimbabwe while Mr Jens Hettmenn takes her place in Ghana. Mr Alban Bagbin, Majority Leader who delivered an address at the ceremony, said the FES set up an office in Ghana in 1969 and contributed in no small measure to the country's return to democratic rule in the early 1990s.

"The assistance of FES to the development of parliamentary democracy in Ghana cannot be over-emphasized.FES has had a long collaboration with parliament," he said. The Majority Leader commended the organization and said its mission to promote the ideals and basic values of democracy, social justice, political participation and labour movement could not have been better accomplished.

"FES has been catalytic in providing representatives of political parties with a platform to exchange information, ideas and experiences. FES had indeed contributed tremendously to the development of our nascent democracy," Mr Bagbin said. Dr Marius Haas, German Ambassador to Ghana, in his remarks said the ruling National Democratic Congress had a long standing relationship with the Social Democrats Party in Germany. He commended FES for the contributions that had helped to bring Ghana's democracy to its present level, describing Ghana as the light house in Africa.