General News of Wednesday, 1 June 2005

Source: GNA

President Kufuor leaves for Ouagadougou

Accra, June 1, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor left Accra on Tuesday for Burkina Faso to attend a meeting of the Community of the Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).

Mr Daniel K. Osei and Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Government Spokesman, accompanied him.

The 21-member CEN-SAD, which includes 11 West African states, is aimed at accelerating economic development of each member state and also serves as a building block for the achievement of an African common market.

Ghana has over the years been attending the sessions as an observer and its application to be a member would be considered at the session. Foreign Minister Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo left Accra on Friday for the 12th Executive Council Session of CEN-SAD.

Ghana attended the last ordinary session as an observer a status granted her as an indication of her intention to join CEN-SAD. CEN-SAD was established in February 1998 as a regional economic grouping. It has its headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, and also aims at fostering peace, security and stability in Africa. 01 June 05