LAGOS, July 10 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama is due to arrive at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra on Friday night for a two-day visit, according to the reports of the Ghana News Agency.
Ghanaian President John Evans Atta Mills and First lady Naadu Mills will be at the airport to welcome President Obama and his wife, Michelle.
The itinerary for the Obama’s visit begins on July 11, with a special welcoming ceremony and he would hold closed-door bilateral talks with President Mills.
President Obama would then be hosted to a big breakfast for about 300 guests, including former presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor, as well as the presidential contestants of the 2008 elections, leadership of the religious bodies, traditional councils, civil society and business communities.
He would then pay a brief visit to the La General Hospital briefly in Accra, before moving to the Accra International Conference Center (AICC), where Parliament would be convened to hear his formal address.
While at the AICC, President Obama would make a major policy statement that is expected to redefine America’s relationship with Africa.
In line with his earlier pronouncements that his presidency would seek to assist Africa in reaching the point where its citizens would be proud to stay and work on the continent, he would be expected, through his policy statement in Ghana, to set the tone for equal partnership between America and Africa, just like he has done elsewhere.
The major address ends President Obama’s official activities in Accra.
He then moves to Cape Coast, the capital city of the Central Region, where he would be welcomed by Vice President John Dramani Mahama and given a private tour of the Cape Coast Castle.
President Obama and his wife are expected to go through the emotional experience at the gate of no return.
He would then depart for the KIA where he and his host would give brief remarks before he boards Air Force One back to the United States.
