President hosts State
Dinner in honour of Canadian Governor General
Accra, Nov. 29, GNA - President John Agyekum
Kufuor on Tuesday hosted the visiting Governor
General and Commander in Chief of Canada, Right
Honourable Michaelle Jean, to a state dinner in
Accra, where he acclaimed the long standing
relations between the two countries.
Proposing the toast, the President traced
bilateral relations to March 6, 1957 when Ghana
gained independence from British colonialists
and said the visit of the Governor General was
testimony to the warm relations.
Showering praises on the Rt. Honourable Jean,
covering her academic pedigree, personal life
story and her nomination as the third woman and
the first of African descent to occupy her
present position, President Kufuor described her
as a source of inspiration that Ghanaians and
Canadians alike had fallen in love with,
attracting prolonged cheers.
He said the track record of the ruling New
Patriotic Party to good governance and democracy
among other things had been acclaimed worldwide
as a success.
President Kufuor said his administration had
launched a vigorous infrastructure development,
which he said had enjoyed tremendous support
from Canada.
He said Ghana was the recipient of the largest
Canadian aid in Sub-Saharan Africa.
President Kufuor said Canada had decided to
double its development assistance to developing
countries in 2010 and halt the spread of
HIV/AIDS in 2015.
Responding to the toast, Rt. Honourable Jean
traced Canadian support to Ghana to 1906 when
missionaries from her country established a
mission in Navrongo.
"Ghana is also home to the longest running aid
programme led by the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA)," she said.
Rt. Honourable Jean said presently there were some 17,000 Canadians of
Ghanaian descent.
She said the economic partnership between Ghana
and Canada must be practiced within an ethical
framework "respectful of the people, respectful
of their needs and aspirations and respectful of
the ecological integrity of the land where we
draw our resources."
Rt. Honourable Jean commended President Kufuor
for undertaking reforms in the judicial system
in order to make it transparent and accessible
to all.
She also lauded the performance of Ghana in the
2006 World Cup and expressed the hope that the
country would do better in the 2010 tournament
in South Africa.
Tracing her roots to Africa, which attracted
spontaneous cheers from the audience, she said
the time had come for Africa to recapture the
moment of African History in order to move
ahead.
"As Governor General of Canada, I am pleased to
acknowledge that my country and Ghana have
achieved a great deal together in the past 50
years. I am certain that we will achieve even
more in the years ahead.
"May Canada and Ghana continue to build on the
solid foundation of friendship that is our
shared legacy. May we draw inspiration from our
shared success and work together for the good of
this nation, for the good of Africa and for all
humanity," she added.
GNA
