President John Evans Atta Mills has returned from the African Union 18th ordinary session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He was interacting with media personnel on his arrival at the VIP lounge at the Kotoka international airport.

President Mills noted that the 18th Session of the AU was very significant because President Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin, a West African country, was chosen as Chairman of the Union.

He also said the Summit was memorable because the Union had honoured Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, by unveiling his statue in front of the new AU building in Addis Ababa, and commended the Union for the tribute to Dr Nkrumah.

President Mills said African countries had a lot of potential but did not seem to be featuring prominently in world trade.

He said African countries were facing constraints, preventing them from fully realising their potentials, and cited unwillingness of most of the countries to trade with each other and inadequate infrastructure such as roads.

President Mills said: "There is the need to seriously consider how to boost intra-African trade."

He commended the national team; Ghana Black Stars, for their splendid performance at the ongoing African Nations Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, so far.

President Mills said this has heightened the admiration for Ghana by other African countries.

He predicted that the Black Stars would lift the trophy, and wished the players the best in the tournament.