Kufuor to attend UN Ordinary Session

Accra, Sept. 8, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor would leave Accra on Friday to London en-route to New York, United States to attend this year's Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly scheduled from September 14 to September 17. President Kufuor would address the high level plenary session of the UN on Wednesday, September 14, and is slated to be the fifth speaker at the 60th session of the General Assembly on Saturday. A statement issued on Thursday from the Office of the President said this year's Summit was significant in that it would mark the 60th anniversary of the inception of the world body in San Francisco after Second World War. Over 170 Heads of State and Government are expected to attend the Summit, which would focus on, among other things, the overhaul and reform of the UN in order to make it more responsive to the needs of the rapidly changing world. Other issues on the Session's agenda include proposals to set up new Human Rights Council to replace the Commission of Human Rights, a new Peace Building Commission to help to manage and to stabilise countries emerging from conflict and evaluate progress on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals on Health, Education, Poverty Reduction, Environmental Sustainability and Gender Equality. The statement said while in the US, President Kufuor would also deliver a lecture at the University of Connecticut on: "The Democratic Transition of Ghana", and later attend a meeting organised by the Corporate Council for Africa to honour leaders of African countries, who have been selected as eligible for the Millennium Challenge Accounts assistance.
The Foreign Minister, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other senior officials of the Presidency would accompany President Kufuor.