Ghana chosen AU chair

"By consensus vote, President (John) Kufuor of Ghana has been elected to the presidency of the African Union," Konare said.

Earlier, Konare was among the speakers who addressed the opening session of the eighth ordinary summit of the AU. Other speakers included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, outgoing AU chairperson President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo, President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, and the prime ministers of Italy, Turkey, and Trinidad and Tobago.