Accra, June 27, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday lauded the outgoing United States Ambassador, Ms. Pamela Bridgewater, for helping to strengthen Ghana-US relations.

Relations between the two countries during her three-year duty tour in terms of development assistance and political and cultural exchanges had been stronger than ever, President Kufuor said when Ms. Bridgewater called at the Castle, Osu, on Thursday to bid farewell to him. President Kufuor said Ghana would honour her with a State Award, Order of the Volta, for this achievement.

President Kufuor noted that the period she served in Ghana was most eventful and cited the historic three-day state visit by US President George Walker Bush and the wife Laura as well as those by the Secretary of State, the Treasury Secretary and the Agriculture Secretary. Besides, there have been a number of interventions from which the country was benefiting, including the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) as well as HIV-AIDS and malaria initiatives.

All these have come together to positively enhance the ties between the two nations to the mutual benefit of their peoples.

Ms Bridgewater described her stay as "wonderful and memorable" and said looking back Ghana-US relations were now at all time high. She said she was confident that her successor, who would assume duty in September, would work harder to build on the strong bond of friendship between the two.

Also at the Castle to bid President Kufuor farewell was the out-going Malian Ambassador, Mr. Mohamed Mahmoud Ben Labat. He is leaving at the end of his eight-year duty tour.

Mr Labat, who was the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, conveyed his appreciation to the Government and people of the country for the support and fruitful co-operation extended to him during this period. He again expressed admiration for the political stability and strong economic performance achieved by the Government and said' "You have made all Africans proud."

President Kufuor said the Ambassador deserved to take credit for the improvement in Ghana-Mali relations.

"You served well and helped to strengthen and advance the historic relations between our two countries."

This, he said, was manifested by the high political exchanges between the two West African nations.