General News of Sunday, 9 December 2001

Source: .

US, EU Ambassadors Meet Akufo-Addo

THE AMERICAN Ambassador to Ghana, Nancy Powell, has paid a courtesy call on the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo, at his office in Accra.

She was accompanied by officials of the U.S Embassy, says a Justice Ministry release issued last week. The purpose of the visit was to get her acquainted with the Attorney-General.

According to the release, they discussed matters of national and international importance, especially the current war against terrorism, and the Legal Sector Reform initiative of the government.

In another development, Mrs Nancy Powell has presented a certificate of appreciation to the office of the Attorney-General for its outstanding support to American citizensin need.

In a related issue, the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, Stefan Frowein, has paid a courtesy call on the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice at his office in Accra.

The Ambassador stated that Ghana was an important partner of the EU and he was happy to be here.

He was also keen on building up on the solid relationship fostered between Ghana and the EU over the years, and informed the Attorney-General that the EU had pledged its support for the good governance programmes of the Legal and Judicial Sectors.

This support would be translated into a firm financial commitment shortly.

The Attorney-General stated that "we had had a turbulent political history but now there was a general consensus among the majority of our people that multi-party democracy was the only credible alternative."

He stated further that strengthening the rule of law and building up our institutions, i.e., the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary, was a priority for the Kufuor administration and "any assistance from our partners in this direction would be more welcome."

He further informed His Excellency Frowein that he had established a Legal Sector Reform Oversight Committee under his chairmanship to co-ordinate all activities geared towards the implementation of the strategic plan for the legal and judicial sectors in order to avoid duplications and overlaps.

Present at the meeting were the Deputy Attorney-General, Ms. Gloria Akuffo, and Mrs. Ursula Owusu Adjei, Special Assistant to the Attorney-General.