Kampala, July 28, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday said the Government would maintain the peace the nation enjoyed and would help her sister African nations to ensure that peace prevailed on the Continent.
He underscored peace as pre-requisite for development and condemned terrorists and advised people, who did not want peace, to disabuse their minds of using violence as the only way to resolving problems.
President Mills made the remark during an interaction with Ghanaians resident in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, where he attended the three-day 15th Summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, which discussed largely the way forward for African countries and how to counter terrorist attacks that were surfacing in parts of the Continent.
The meeting was planned to discuss the role of Governments in ensuring maternal, infant and child health in the development of the African Continent, but the discussion of peace and security took centre-stage alongside the main summit theme in the wake of two separate bomb attacks that rocked Kampala city two weeks prior to the Summit.
The two suicide bombing incidents, linked to Somali al-Shabaab insurgents, were seen as retaliatory moves to disrupt the organisation of the Summit in Uganda for contributing troops to the Africa Mission in Somalia.
The Summit was nearly moved away from Uganda for security reasons, but for the strong posture put up by host President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who ensured the beefing up of security during the period of the Summit.
President Mills registered profound commendation for the Government of Uganda for its courage to hold the Summit despite the terrorist threats.
He expressed condolences to the bereaved families and condemned the dastardly acts that claimed the lives of 76 people.
Part of the recommendations of the Summit was to reinforce the AU Mission in Somalia for which Ghana was approached to make contributions.
President Mills said the Government was serious with its commitment to peace both at home and on the Continent, adding that peace should be the number one priority of all African nations.
"Peace is our number one priority, and when we are in the position, we should help our brothers and sisters who have been confronted with this scourge," President Mills said.
He said Ghana was considering the request to contribute troops to the AU Mission in Somalia, and the final decision would be taken in consultation with the Ghana Armed Forces, based on the availability of human resources, equipment and the welfare of the soldiers.
President Mills applauded Ghanaian residents in Uganda for being law-abiding and said that despite the initial challenges his Government inherited the economy was taking shape and becoming buoyant and attractive to residents and investors.
He said he was running a non-partisan Government, explaining that his administration was working with diverse people across the political divide and invited those with the requisite skills, to come back home to support the national development process to build a Better Ghana.
"We are focused, and determined to achieve the ultimate aim of pulling our people out of the doldrums, so that the average Ghanaian can have the life he has dreamed of for years," President Mills said.
On the issue of warm weather conditions back at home on which concerns were raised, President Mills said the Government was conscious of the need to make the environment friendly.
He said the Government was engaged in an eco-project involving the cleaning of the beaches, tree-planting to improve the green cover and a new programme to check the spread of malaria.
President Mills said such programmes would achieve the desired results only when the people kept their environment clean.