Kufuor leaves for Addis Ababa

Accra, Oct. 3, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor will leave Accra today for a three-day visit to Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, during which he will hold high level consultations with the African Union (AU) Commission on some urgent matters including recent attacks suffered by African peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region. Rebels in the troubled Darfur region have reportedly attacked members of the AU peacekeeping force, killing at least 10 troops and seizing 40 others. A statement signed by Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the President and Presidential Spokesman, said while in Addis Ababa, President Kufuor would hold discussions with Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi and also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is leading a German parliamentary group on a visit to the AU Headquarters. At the last summit of industrialised nations held in Heiligendamm, Chancellor Merkel, currently the G-8 President, pledged her commitment to debt relief programmes and raising development aid funds for Africa. The President is expected back home on October 5, the statement said.