Accra, Dec. 4, GNA - The Office of the President, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) is convening a roundtable of key stakeholders to define a development strategy for the Northern Ghana.

The two-day meeting scheduled from tomorrow, December 5 in Tamale is in response to the announcement in the 2008 Budget proposals of the establishment of the Northern Ghana Development Fund, a statement from the Castle signed by Mr Andrew Awuni, the Press Secretary to the President said on Tuesday.

The statement quoted the Chief Advisor to the President, Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse, that the roundtable was intended to be a high-level forum to fashion a blueprint for homegrown innovative intervention for accelerated development and wealth-creation in the Northern Regions.

The major stakeholders attending the meeting include Members of Parliament from both the Majority and Minority parties, Senior Government Officials, Ministers, including those from the three Northern Regions and Senior Government Officials of key Sector Agencies. The Private Sector, Financial Institutions, Opinion Leaders from the Northern Regions and Ghanaian think-tanks would also participate as well as Ghana's Development Partners both bilateral and multilateral, including the World Bank and the UN system.

The rest are International and Local NGOs, the statement added. 4 Dec. 07