Ghana ready for U.S. President Obama: minister

LAGOS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian Deputy Minister of Information Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Friday in Accra that Ghana is all set for the arrival of the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama and his wife, Michelle and their two daughters.

Ablakwa told reporters ahead of the U.S. President visit that preparations have progressed as expected and the whole nation is waiting for the historic arrival of the First Family, accompanied by senior U.S. government officials.

"On our part we are happy to say that we have been impressed with preparations, and the advanced team from the U.S. is also happy and we are all waiting," the Accra-based Joy Online reported.

Ghanaian and American flags are flapping boisterously at the forecourt of the Accra International Conference Center (AICC) where the national colors of the two nations also drape the walls and inside of the main hall.

The AICC is the venue for Saturday's historic meeting with Parliamentarians, Ministers of State, Traditional Rulers, the Diplomatic Corps and a cream of society's decision makers where Obama will be expected to make a major foreign policy statement on Africa.

On the wall facing the dais in the Main Hall is a huge banner with the message "Yes Together We Can".

Security personnel have been posted at vantage points throughout the city, while the police have announced the closure of a number of roads in the capital.

The visiting President and entourage are expected to touch down at Kotoka International Airport at 8:30 p.m. local time (2030 GMT) and will be hosted to a meeting with His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills.

Ghana's two former presidents, Jerry Rawlings and John Kufuor, will also be in attendance.