Accra, Nov. 6, GNA - Former President John Agyekum Kufuor left Accra Friday for Lagos at the start of a two-week overseas trip that will take him Spain, Italy, Kenya and Ethiopia.

At his first stop in Nigeria, former President Kufuor will be given an honorary doctorate degree by the Bells University of Technology in the state of Ota.

The award will be in recognition, for "good governance and dedicated service to Africa", according to a statement issued by Mr Frank Agyekum, Press Secretary to the former President.

It said conferring of the award will be preceded by a speech by the eminent US statesman and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Andrew Young.

Former President Kufuor would then move to Lagos to address the Nigeria-British Association on West Africa's trade relations with Britain as the guest speaker.

From Nigeria, former President Kufuor will travel to Madrid, Spain, where he will be formally admitted as a member of the prestigious Club de Madrid at their annual delegates' conference.

The meeting of the 70-member Club de Madrid, seen as the largest gathering of democratically-elected former heads of state and governments, will discuss "The Political Dimensions of the World Economic Crisis". Former President Kufuor will speak on:"The M arket, Regulatory Frameworks and Democratic Governance."

In Rome, Italy, former President Kufuor will chair the second summit of the Association of First Ladies of the Non-Aligned Movement, currently headed by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt.

From Rome he will travel to Kenya and then Ethiopia on assignment for the United Nations World Food Programme as part of measures to assess and advice on the food crisis currently confronting those two countries. Former President Kufuor will meet with the Prime Ministers of both countries as well as interact with civil society and farmers' organizations in the two countries before returning home. 6 Nov. 09