Accra, Nov. 15, GNA -- President John Agyekum Kufuor would pay a state visit to the United Kingdom early next year in what has been described in diplomatic circles as a sign of a special place the President and Ghana occupy in the international community.

A statement signed in Accra on Wednesday by Mr Andrew Awuni , Press Secretary to the President and Presidential Spokesman, said Queen Elizabeth II of England announced the visit in the House of Commons in London.

The announcement was contained in the Queen's State of the Nation address to the House on Wednesday, the statement said.

'The United Kingdom announces two state visits every year and President Kufuor will be the first Ghanaian President to be given this honour by Buckingham Palace since independence, it said.