Libya donates to Foreign Affairs Ministry

Libya on Tuesday expressed solidarity with Ghana when it donated office equipment and furniture worth 250,000 dollars to the Foreign Affairs Ministry following a fire on October 21 that left the Ministry in ruins. The items the Libyans gave were 70 computers complete with printers and work stations, 70 office tables and chairs, a set of executive furniture, 50 metal and wooden cabinets, four fax machines, four photocopiers and one PABX system supporting 24 telephone lines. Other items were 50 air conditioners, a set of conference room furniture, a set of reception area furniture, 35 arm chairs, various stationery and cloak hangers. Mr Salem Abdulkarim, Libya's Acting Ambassador in Ghana who led a delegation from Libya to present the items, said the donation was to strengthen the bonds of friendship between both countries. He said the move was also to consolidate the notion that permanent relations were among people and not governments and that Libya believed that extending a helping hand to all Africans would engender the attainment of a "Great African Union" under the leadership of the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar al-Qathafi. Foreign Affairs Minister Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni expressed his gratitude to the Libyan government for the donation, saying, "This kind gesture of solidarity and goodwill is testimony to the time-tested tradition of friendship and brotherhood that have characterized relations between Ghana and Libya". He said the donation would fill the void that the fire outbreak left in its trail.