Accra, Aug 27, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills has accepted an invitation from the Venezuelan President, Mr Hugo Chavez, to attend the second South America-Africa Summit to be held in that country. Its aim is to advance development cooperation between the two continents.

The President confirmed his participation in the summit when a special envoy of Mr Chavez, Madam Reina M. Arratia, called on him at the Castle, Osu, on Thursday to brief him on the upcoming summit to be held later in the year.

Receiving Madam Raina, who is also the her country's Ambassador to Benin, President Mills expressed gratitude to Mr Chavez for being a trail blazer in championing closer political and economic collaboration between the two continents to enable them to chart a common course for development.

He said Ghana intended to forge closer links with Venezuela in a number of areas with the intention of promoting dialogue and strengthening cooperation for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries.

President Mills was particularly gratified about the willingness of Mr Chavez to serve as a torchbearer in instigating ideas that can help the people of both continents to overcome their underdevelopment, saying Ghana would be fully represented at the summit in view of the anticipated impact it would make on the nation's development agenda.

Madam Raina said the Venezuelan government valued its relationship with Ghana in view of the enormous development strides it was making, noting that the summit would serve as another trajectory in deepening the relations between the two countries in the economic and political spheres.

The summit, she said, would bring people of diverse backgrounds to brainstorm on the way forward in promoting economic development on both continents within the context of south-south cooperation.

This, she explained, would enable governments on both continents to engage their people in addressing common political, social and economic challenges that confront not only the individual nations but also the entire world.