Accra, Oct. 10, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday called on Ghana and Russia to fully exploit the goodwill between them to improve their trade and economic ties.

He said given the goodwill and relations since the 1950s, the two should have enjoyed greater economic co-operation and trade relations than they did now.

President Kufuor was receiving the letters of Credence of the new Russian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Andrey Viktorovich Pokrovsky, at the Castle, Osu.

Also there to present their letters were Mrs Alida Petronella Remmelzwaal, the Netherlands Ambassador; Mr Luis Fernando de Andrade Serra, the Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, and Mr Norman Seduma Moleboge, High Commissioner of Botswana.

President Kufuor, who expressed appreciation to Russia for its education scholarship to Ghanaian students and its Military/Technical Co-operation, said the mining and maritime sectors were areas where their investors could look at for possible joint venture businesses. He, therefore, asked the Ambassador to take up the challenge of ensuring that his term of office was marked by significant improvement in Ghana-Russia relations.

Mr Pokrovsky said he was motivated to do his best to take the relations between the two countries to a new high. He said relations between Ghana and his country had been good in the international arena especially with Ghana's election to the United Nations Security Council.

Russia, he said, was eager to work with Ghana in the fight against global terrorism and to boost economic co-operation. At the turn of Mrs Remmelzwaal, President Kufuor called on the Netherlands to co-operate with and become more supportive of the Government's efforts at finding lasting solution to the water problem facing Accra, the national capital.

Already, the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing has been talking to Dutch contractors on the project to link the water reservoir at Accra East with that of Accra West so that all parts of the city would get water.

He said the Government also wanted to quickly expand the School Feeding Programme, which her country had offered to support and asked the Ambassador to work with Ghana on these.

"We expect you to come in to strengthen our relationship," he said.

When the Brazilian Ambassador called, President Kufuor said it was Ghana's position that Brazil from the South, which was acknowledged as a leader of the developing world, should be on the UN Security Council. He welcomed the establishment of the African Office of Brazil's reputable agricultural research institution, EMBRAPA, in Accra and said Ghana would make the most of it.

He asked the Ambassador to see to it that the project of establishing an air link between the two countries became a reality. Mr Serra spoke of his country's commitment to South-South co-operation and said he would focus on strengthening their economic relations with Ghana.

The Botswana High Commissioner expressed his country's gratitude for the enormous benefits from Ghana in the areas of education and judicial administration.

He said there were a number of nationals from Botswana, who were reading medicine in Ghana, adding: "We have found in Ghana real good relations."

President Kufuor said Ghana was looking forward to working closely with Botswana to advance the cause of the African Union (AU).