Governance analyst, Emmanuel Akwetey has described as Tuesday's first official meeting between President John Mills and his predecessor John Kufuor “symbolic”. He said the meeting was a good beginning, and a departure from the usual acrimony that had been associated with government change. The two statesmen were engaged in a closed-door meeting for nearly an hour but details of the meeting have been scanty. Mr. Kufuor told the press corps at the presidency that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. But that was all he would say. His spokesperson Frank Agyekum told Joy News there was a confidentiality pact that both sides would want respected. He was however happy with the cordial atmosphere that enveloped the meeting and said per the accommodating chemistry, the two parties desired more of such encounters and had wished the meeting had come off earlier. But while the substance of the meeting was yet to be made public, Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG,) Emmanuel Akwetey insists the meeting was a good start for the entrenchment of the country’s democracy. He called for conscious efforts beyond the meeting by the leaders of the two parties to deepen more communication if the political temperature in the country was likely to be lowered. He said there were “hawks” within both the National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party who would rather have the status quo maintained - suspicion and mistrust between the parties - for their parochial interests. Dr. Akwetey however called for cool heads in both parties to be allowed to build bridges. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana