The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC) is to be developed into a regional centre of learning where professional standards in training and research in peacekeeping and other peace support operations would be conducted.

Defence Minister Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor said training at the Centre would be conducted by the military and civilian specialists who can bring their experience in conflict prevention and resolution in providing for the maintenance of law and order.

Dr Kufuor said this when he cut the sod for the commencement of work on the KAIPTC project, which is sited at the precinct of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College at Teshie near Accra.

Work on the project, funded by a German government grant of 1.8 million Euros, commenced in September this year and is to be completed by the same time in 2003. An Italian firm, Babissoti Construction Company is undertaking the construction of the project, which would include an administration block, lecture rooms and an auditorium.

Dr Kufuor recalled Ghana's first participation in peacekeeping dating back to the 1960's in the UN mission in Congo, adding that the country had been called upon on several occasions to offer her services in keeping peace and maintaining law and order in many countries.

He said in all the peacekeeping operations the GAF had partaken, its soldiers have shown exemplary courage, professionalism, dedication to duty and respect and goodwill toward the local population.

"This is truly a proud pedigree; very few national armed forces in the world can boast of such achievement", he noted. He said construction of the Centre marked a major milestone in the history of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), and was a tribute to its peacekeeping achievements in the sub-region and around the world.

The Minister said the project also provided the nation with the opportunity to salute Mr Kofi Annan for bringing honour to Ghana and Africa. He said the KAIPTC provided Ghana with the opportunity to share its peacekeeping expertise with the sub-region and the rest of the world.

Dr Kufuor said the curriculum of the centre was designed to provide instructions at the operational level, adding that KAIPTC apart from being an institution of great merit would also enhance the stature of the Staff College, with which it would be sharing the same campus.

He said the Centre is designed to complement the basic training provided at the Zambrako Staff College in Cote D'Ivoire and the strategic level training given by the Nigerian Defence College in Abuja.

The Centre, he said, would provide mission oriented training at the operational level of peace support operations for selected participants prior to induction into areas of operations and would also be designated for the training of permanent ECOMOG standby units.

He said the KAIPTC had a relevance to the G8 Africa Action Plan and the NEPAD in that it would be available to train specialists for the promotion of peace and security, one of the initiative which the Plan seeks to engage.

The G8 Africa Action Plan also seeks to provide technical and financial assistance so that by 2010, African countries, sub-regional and regional organization would be engaged for effective prevention and resolution of conflict.

He noted that the current situation across the western border was an ample testimony for the need for the institution and appealed to development partners for more support for the project.

Dr Harald Loeschner, the German Ambassador to Ghana said the country was showing herself as a model nation in conflict prevention and management and in sub-regional integration. He said the establishment of the Centre merited continuous support from the German government and other institutions.