Ghana has appealed to developed countries to assist African states to retrieve monies stolen by politicians and kept in their banks.

This could be done in the same way that it has been possible to gain international support for the seizure of funds of terrorist organisations. Ghana’s President, John Kufuor said this in a speech read for him at a two-day conference aimed at exploring Ghana's foreign policy options in Accra.

He advocated co-operation among states in the West African Sub-Region to fight cross border crimes and the proliferation of weapons in the area. "It is regrettable that while poor countries strived to survive social setbacks and unfavourable global trends, their efforts were further hampered by internal conflicts.

"Today, we also see more intra-state conflicts, failed states and inter state wars. Signs of worsening poverty appear everywhere in Africa. "There is widespread social disintegration, the benefits of globalisation are skewed in favour of rich countries while a new scourge - the AIDS pandemic - is fast ravaging the most productive segment of our population in Africa, thereby reversing the continent's fragile and minimal gains."

The President tasked the conference to come out with proposals that would address these problems. He said with an efficient foreign policy, Ghana could be transformed into a powerful and great nation and, thereby, assume its rightful place in the comity of nations "where our heads were once held high".

Some 200 participants mostly serving and retired foreign service officers, members from academia, politicians and military chiefs are attending the conference, organised jointly by the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA) and the Foreign Ministry.