Accra, Feb. 12, GNA - Former President John Agyekum Kufuor returned=

home on Thursday night after a 10-day visit to C=F4te d'Ivoire and Tunisi= a where he addressed meetings of political parties and the African Developm= ent Bank respectively. In Cote d'Ivoire former President Kufuor held two meetings with Ivor= ian President Laurent Gbagbo, who also hosted him to dinner, a statement sign= ed by Mr Frank Agyekum, Spokesperson, Office of former President Kufuor, sai= d on Friday.

It said former President Kufuor held high-level talks with leaders a= nd executives of Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI), Parti D=E9mocratique de C=F4= te d'Ivoire (PDCI) and Rassemblement des R=E9publicains (RDR) who are among the front runners in elections scheduled for next month.

The statement said former President Kufuor met the United Nations Representative on C=F4te d'Ivoire, Mr Jong Li Choi and addressed a nation= al conference of representatives of all the political parties, civil society= , diplomats religious leaders and the media on the need for the peaceful conduct of their impending elections.

His topic was on: "Elections in Africa, the Ghana experience." His visit was at the invitation of the Union of Professional Journalists of C=F4te d'Ivoire.

The statement said in Tunis the former President held talks with Dr Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and addressed a meeting of the Executive Directors of the Bank.

He gave a lecture on: "Governance Challenges and Economic Development= in Africa" to about 200 networks within and outside the AfDB and addressed t= he Ghanaians at the bank. Former President Kufuor also addressed the international media on th= e aims and objectives of the Kufuor Foundation, the statement said.