At the Invitation of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Kingdom of The Netherlands, President John Agyekum Kufuor, will be addressing a joint session of the Dutch Senate and The House of Representatives, in The Hague, this October.

The address highlights a three-day State Visit, beginning Tuesday, October 21 to Thursday, October 24 during which the long standing relations between Ghana and the Kingdom of The Netherlands will be reviewed as well as other separate high level meetings with key officials of HM Queen Beatrix¢s government, including the Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende.

HM Queen Beatrix will also receive President Kufuor and First Lady Mrs. Theresa Kufuor at an official ceremony at the NoordeindePalace , where the presidential delegation will take residence for the period of the Visit.

A business meeting, to be hosted by the Dutch Trade Minister and Chairman of Economic Affairs at the De Bazel Conference Center, affords the Presidential delegation a direct interaction with top executives of the Netherlands Industry and Employers.

Other features of the Visit include a wreath laying at the Dutch National Monument, in memory of heroes of the second world war, a study tour of the Sitos facilities (an international soft commodity logistics company, with special focus in cocoa) and Vitens- Evides (the largest drinking water company in The Netherlands).

From The Netherlands, President Kufuor departs for the United Kingdom , where as a guest of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, he will be decorated with the prestigious Chatham House Prize for the year 2008, by the Duke of Edinburgh, in Drapers (the financial district of London).

Chatham House announced last month, the selection of President Kufuor, ahead of other Leaders, in recognition of his positive role in mediating conflicts in Ghana¢s immediate neighbours including Liberia and Cote d¢Ivoire as well as his contributions to the growth in the economy, social freedoms and the development of a robustly free press.

The Chatham House award is increasingly emerging as the British equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

The President departs on Sunday October 19 and is expected back home on Tuesday, October 28, 2008.

Signed: ANDREW AWUNI PRESS SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT & PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN