U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama Saturday revealed his age-long admiration for Ghana, a feeling he said nurtured a longing to visit. “To be able to come here at all is wonderful, to be able to come here as President of the United States, is even better,” he said to the wild endorsement of a cross section of Ghanaians at a breakfast meeting held in his honour at the Osu Castle Gardens. “Thank you very much for Michelle and I, are so grateful for the extraordinary hospitality and warm wishes that we have received since we arrived yesterday.” Among the gathering were President J.E.A. Mills and Vice President John Dramani Mahama, former presidents Jerry Rawlings and John Kufuor, Chief Justice Georgina Wood and Speaker of Parliament, Joyce Bamford Addo. Politicians including a good number of candidates who contested President Mills in the 2008 elections, traditional leaders, the clergy, chieftains of business and industry, as well as media men and women were all part of the big occasion. Barack Obama said the relationship between Ghana and the United States is already very strong, but he intends to build an even stronger relation during his presidency. He praised Vice President John Mahama for his “outstanding leadership” and also commended former presidents J.J. Rawlings and J.A. Kufuor for their contribution to Ghana’s democratic growth. “I want to thank, as was indicated, President Mills’ predecessors, because had it not been for the vision of President Rawlings to recognize the importance of democracy and also recognize that stepping back is part of leadership, to see President Kufuor then build on that vision, to see an election that was close and peaceful, and to see a set of strong institutions, a strong parliament, Madam Speaker is here, a strong judiciary, the Chief Justice is here and I will note here that they are both women, which tells you something…when a country is made of strong women, that means strong children and it’s a strong nation.” Mr. Obama said he was especially grateful to President Mills and First Lady Naadu Mills for their generousity, their vision, wisdom and leadership. “We are absolutely committed to helping Ghana continue on the path of prosperity and security and democracy. There are going to be a lot of challenges; we are facing challenges in the United States obviously from the G8 Meeting, there are challenges all over the world, but the one thing that separates us is that when people are committed to coming together, resolving conflicts peacefully, thinking in terms of what is best for ordinary Ghanaians as opposed to what is best for just a few. “When Africa as a whole is committed to development from the bottom-up and not from the top-down, then there is no reason why this continent will not continue to thrive in the 21st Century.” President J.E.A. Mills expressing gratitude to President Obama for choosing Ghana for his first Sub-Sahara Africa visit, and his words of encouragement, and above all, his committment to support the growth of democracy in Africa. Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonline