The Queen of England, Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II has welcomed His Excellency President John Atta Mills, to the United Kingdom.

A representative of the Queen, Lord Brett, welcomed the President at the Royal Garden Hotel.

Lord Brett, on behalf of the Queen, congratulated President Atta Mills for assuming the high office of President of the Republic of Ghana and commended Ghana for flying high the flag of democracy in Africa.

According to Lord Brett, Her Majesty the Queen was proud that Ghana, a key member of the Commonwealth, was leading the way in broadening the frontiers of democracy and wished the President a fruitful stay in London.

Lord Brett also commended President Atta Mills for his commitment to fighting corruption and the drug menace.

On his part, His Excellency President Atta Mills thanked the Queen for her welcome message and pledged to continue to lead Ghana on the path that will give Ghana more glory as far as championing democracy is concerned.

“Considering how far we have come, there is no turning back and Ghana will invest in Her democracy” the President said.

President Mills said it was not for nothing that he accepted the invitation to pay an official visit to London, considering the strong ties between Ghana and Britain.

“The close relationship between Ghana and Britain is common knowledge and I am here to strengthen our relationship”.

On the issue of drugs, the President said he was not happy about Ghana being a major transit point for the illicit drug trade and will make sure that his Government tackles the menace headlong.

“I allowed myself and all my officials to go through all the necessary checks before emplaning and so if as President I am prepared to submit myself to the necessary checks, it tells you the extent to which I am committed to stamping out the illicit drug trade in Ghana” the President Said.

“I am committed to really making Ghana less attractive to the drug barons and my commitment goes beyond words”.

President Atta Mills thanked the British Government for its Operation Westbridge, which is supporting the Ghana Government to fight the illicit drug trade.

His Excellency President John Atta Mills, who arrived in London this morning, will meet the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, other officials, and meet the Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street today.

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