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Kufuor in Egypt for the 11th AU Summit
From Kwaku Osei Bonsu, GNA Special Correspondent, Sharm
El-Sheikh, Egypt
Sharm El-Sheikh, June 29, Ghanadot/GNA - President John
Agyekum Kufuor on Saturday night arrived at the Egyptian Red
Sea Resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for the gathering of African
leaders to discuss ways of scaling up and coordinating the
Continent's efforts at achieving the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
The 11th Summit of the 53-nation Pan-African bloc, which
would officially open on Sunday, is also expected to
deliberate on issues of peace and security, progress towards
political and economic integration and the global emergency
created by the food and oil price hike.
The Africa-European Union (EU) dialogue as well as various
strategic economic partnerships with regions and countries
including China, India and Japan would engage the attention
of the leaders.
This would be the last time President Kufuor would be
attending the AU Heads of State and Government Summit as
leader of his country since he would be ending his tenure on
January 7, 2009.
He would therefore use the opportunity to bid farewell to
his colleagues.
The opening ceremony was preceded by a meeting of the Heads
of State and Government Implementation Committee of the
African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), where Nigeria and
Kenya were set to have been slated to peer-reviewed.
The West African state of Togo also signed on for future
review.
Earlier, addressing the 13th session of the AU Executive
Council, Mr Jean Ping, the AU Commission Chairperson, said
despite progress made over the past years in terms of
entrenching democracy, the continent still faced challenges
and needed collective effort and Commitment to consolidate
the democratic values and practices, Africa sought to
establish through the creation of the AU.
He noted that by simply organizing elections would not
establish democratic governance and the rule of law, which
were prerequisites for harmonious management of the society.
"The major challenge our continent now faces is to ensure
that elections do not end up in unrests and or violent and
often bloody protests," Mr Ping said.
"It is undesirable that in addition to the traditional
conflicts often caused by precarious economic and social
conditions or by denial of rights, elections should become a
source of instability threatening the fragile socio-economic
and political balance in our countries," he said.
GNA
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