Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor said Monday he was impressed by the outstanding preparation for the upcoming Olympics and China's commitment to staging a successful Games.

All people and countries around the world should take the Beijing Olympics as an opportunity to make the ideal of world peace a reality, the president told Xinhua in Accra, capital of Ghana.

The president said he saw sports as a tool for countries' peaceful development as well as a unifying factor among all different societies.

Kufuor will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on Aug. 8. The president said he has kept in constant touch with the Ghanaian Olympic team so as to inspire and motivate the athletes.

He said he is confident the team will honor its nation by making remarkable and unprecedented achievements in the upcoming Olympics.

Talking about China-Ghana relations, Kufuor said that China has become an emerging economic powerhouse in the world.

He said he hoped the two countries could deepen their friendship and continue to promote bilateral cooperation.

The two nations, as well as the two peoples, should maintain a mutually beneficial relationship, he said.

"There is the need for the two countries to forge ahead together to achieve this goal," he said.

The president also expressed satisfaction toward increased engagement and enhanced cooperation between Africa and China.

He said he is confident the Africa-China strategic partnership will be further strengthened in the future.

Kufuor said he is particularly happy about the joint efforts made by Africa and China in enhancing mutual trust and understanding, political equality, economic win-win cooperation as well as cultural exchanges.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2008)