President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the government would justify the confidence the United States (US) has in the socio-economic development programme of Ghana. He said the provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) visa and the establishment of the Centre for Capacity Building for AGOA in Ghana were to create a viable platform for trade relations between the US and the West African Sub-Region.

President Kufuor said this when Mr Jon M. Huntsman Jnr, US Deputy Trade Representative led a seven-man delegation to call on him at the Castle, Osu. The delegation was part of a 21-member team of senior US government and business representatives attending the two-day AGOA trade capacity-building seminar for ECOWAS countries. The team is leading efforts to expand trade under AGOA in the Sub-Region.

President Kufuor commended the delegation for the call saying, "Ghana and the US are co-operating very well to their mutual benefits". He said initially there were some teething problems but gave the assurance that the government was committed to development, support for the private sector and encourage the inflow of capital to make Ghana the home for US investors in the Sub-Region.

President Kufuor said: "We are doing all these out of the best of motives for all concerned and cannot afford an avenue for continued exploitation. There is nothing like Ghana is not being positive to businesses with investors from the US but we want the best for our people and development partners."

Mr Hunstman said it was ideal to bring most of the investors and business representatives in the US to the meeting, which had fruitful deliberations. He said: "We are taking back home good impressions about Ghana. We have a lot to do to make the best out of our relationships in order to take advantage of AGOA". He said both Ghana and the US had the advantage of a common language and the will for better economic trade relations.