Kufour confers with the Sarkozy

By Kwaku Osei Bonsu

PARIS, France- President John Agyekum Kufuor, Chairman of the African Union (AU), in a diplomatic push to help resolve the humanitarian crisis of the Sudan Darfur region, on Monday conferred with newly-elected French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

The conflict has left about 300,000 people killed and over two million others displaced and there is growing international pressure on the Sudan Government to accept a United Nations (UN)-AU hybrid peacekeeping Force.
Speaking to newsmen after the talks, which lasted for over 45 minutes, President Kufuor said the meeting went very well.

He said he was impressed by the goodwill, understanding and concern shown by Mr. Sarkozy.
The French leader was concerned that the right decisions were taken to open humanitarian corridors for the unarmed population in the region.
President Kufuor, who made the stopover in Paris while en route to Berlin for the Group of Eight highly industrialised nations (G-8) Summit at the Baltic seaside resort of Heiligendamm, said they also reviewed France-African relations.

Five other African leaders; South African President Thabo Mbeki, Nigerian newly inaugurated President Umaru Musa Yar’dua, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, and President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika of Algeria, are also attending the summit.

The meeting gets underway from June 6-8, and is aimed at identifying solutions to the major challenges facing the whole of humanity including security, environmental and development policy issues.
France, over the years has been championing the cause of Africa, campaigning for an increase in development aid and the removal of trade barriers to its goods.

President Kufuor, earlier on Monday, addressed the 96th International Labour Conference in Geneva, where he called for global action to with threats and the challenges posed by globalisation.
There should be interventions to overcome the rapidly widening gap between the rich and poor nations, he said.