President John Evans Atta Mills on Saturday attended the investiture of newly elected president of L a Cote d’Ivoire in Yamoussoukro, Mr Allasane Dramane Ouattara, and said Ghana would continue to support her western neighbour to achieve normalcy in the shortest possible time.
He underscored unity as very important following the crisis that clothed the last November polls and commended Ivorians for the level of peace realised so far, and further welcomed the reconciliatory plans the new President annnounced in his inaugural speech.
Twenty-one African heads of state, as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, UN Secratary General Ban Ki-Moon, attended the investiture ceremony, of the 69 year old, who would lead the more than 20 million people in the world leading producer of cocoa for the next five years.
The ceremony dubbed: “La Cote d’Ivoire Rassemble”, was held at the more than two thousand capacity filled Fondation Houphouet Boigny, under heavy military guard.
In a chat with journalists after the ceremony which was marked with pomp and grandeur, President Mills described the investiture as a memorable event which stood for many things.
“This is a ceremony I’ll never forget. It stands for many things. First I believe the unity of La Cote d’Ivoire is very important, and those of us around her should show our solidarity and help achieve normalcy in the shortest possible time,” President Mills said.
President Mills however observed that the search for peace and unity would at the beginning be hard, but added that a determined people should be able to work hard for peace and unity to bring La Cote d’Ivoire back on the course of rapid development.
He stressed on the importance of the West African nations to support the Ivorian cause since they all had a common interest and agenda.
President Mills assured Ivorian refugees in Ghana that he would engage the Ivorian leader on their situation and other issues of common interest at the bilateral level.
The Ghana Armed Forces Central Band played at the ceremony when it came outdoors, and President Mills who is the Commander in Chief described their spectacular performance as part of the co-operation that would inure to the benefit if the two nations.
President Mills has since returned home.
From Benjamin Mensah, GNA Special Correspondent in Yamoussoukro, La Cote d’Ivoire