Rodrigo R. Pimentel, ranked Ghana as the 6th among 10 countries Americans wanted to visit. History. Relations between the United States and Ghana were particularly rocky in the early 1980s, apparently because of Ghana's relations with Libya. The PNDC government restored diplomatic relations with Libya shortly after coming to power. Libya came to the aid of Ghana soon afterward by providing much-needed economic assistance. Libya also has extensive financial holdings in Ghana. Jerry Rawlings supported Libya's position that two Libyans accused of bombing a Pan American Airlines flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 should be tried in a neutral country 	Ghana–United States relations
3574854	rather than in Britain or the United States. Relations between the United States and Ghana were further strained by a series of diplomatic incidents in the mid-1980s. In July 1985, a distant relative of Rawlings, Michael Soussoudis, was arrested in the United States and charged with espionage. Despite Soussoudis's conviction, he was exchanged the following December for several known United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents in Accra, but not before diplomats had been expelled in both Accra and Washington. In March 1986, a Panamanian-registered ship carrying arms and a number of mercenaries and United States veterans of 	Ghana–United States relations
3574855	the Vietnam War was seized off the coast of Brazil. The PNDC charged that the arms and soldiers were destined for Ghana and that they had been financed by a Ghanaian dissident with links to the CIA. During their trial, several crew members admitted that the charges were substantially true. Although they were convicted and imprisoned, three subsequently escaped with what the PNDC alleged was CIA assistance. In spite of these incidents, relations between the United States and Ghana had improved markedly by the late 1980s. Former United States president Jimmy Carter visited Ghana in 1986 and again in 1988 	Ghana–United States relations
3574856	and was warmly received by the PNDC. His Global 2000 agricultural program, which is quite popular with Ghanaian farmers, is helping promote good relations with the United States. In 1989 the United States forgave US$114 million of Ghana's foreign debt, part of a larger debt relief effort by Western nations. The United States has strongly favored Ghana's economic and political reform policies, and since the birth of the Fourth Republic and Ghana's return to constitutional rule, has offered assistance to help Ghana institutionalize and consolidate its steps toward democratic governance. In fiscal year 1994, United States 	Ghana–United States relations
3574857	development aid totaled about $38 million; in addition, the United States supplied more than $16 million in food aid. Thousands of Ghanaians have been educated in the United States. Close relations are maintained between educational and scientific institutions, and cultural links, particularly between Ghanaians and African Americans, are strong. Through the U.S. International Visitor Program, Ghanaian parliamentarians and other government officials have become acquainted with U.S. congressional and state legislative practices and have participated in programs designed to address other issues of interest. The U.S. and Ghanaian militaries have cooperated in numerous joint training exercises, culminating with Ghanaian 	Ghana–United States relations
3574858	participation in the African Crisis Response Initiative, an international activity in which the U.S. facilitates the development of an interoperable peacekeeping capacity among African nations. U.S.-Ghanaian military cooperation continues under the new African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program; Ghana was one of the first militaries to receive ACOTA training in early 2003. In addition, there is an active bilateral International Military Education and Training program. Additionally, Ghana is the site of a U.S.-European Command-funded Exercise Reception Facility that was established to facilitate troop deployments for exercises or crisis response within the region. The facility is a direct result 	Ghana–United States relations
3574859	of Ghana's partnership with the United States on a Fuel Hub Initiative. Ghana is one of few African nations selected for the State Partnership Program, which will promote greater economic ties with U.S. institutions, including the National Guard. The United States is among Ghana's principal trading partners. The Office of the President of Ghana worked closely with the U.S. Embassy in Accra to establish an American Chamber of Commerce to continue to develop closer economic ties in the private sector. Major U.S. companies operating in the country include ACS, CMS Energy, Coca-Cola, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina, StarKist	Ghana–United States relations
3574860	, A.H. Robins, Sterling, Pfizer, IBM, 3M, Motorola, Stewart & Stevenson, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and National Cash Register (NCR). Several U.S. firms recently made or are considering investments in Ghana, primarily in gold mining, wood products, and petroleum. U.S. mining giant Newmont entered Ghana's mining sector in 2004 and intends to invest up to $1 billion. In late 1997, Nuevo Petroleum concluded an oil exploration agreement accounting for the last of Ghana's offshore mineral rights zones. Several other U.S. oil companies also are engaged in offshore exploration, but so far with little success. U.S. development assistance to Ghana in fiscal 	Ghana–United States relations
3574861	year 2007 was implemented by USAID, the African Development Foundation, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and others. U.S. development assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 2007 totaled more than $55.1 million, with programs in small farmer competitiveness, health, including HIV/AIDS and maternal child health, education, and democracy/governance. Ghana was the first country in the world to accept Peace Corps volunteers, and the program remains one of the largest. Currently, there are more than 150 volunteers in Ghana. Almost half work in education, and the others in agro-forestry, small business development, health education, water sanitation, and youth development. Ghana	Ghana–United States relations
3574862	's $547 million compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation is the most recent achievement in the U.S.-Ghanaian development partnership. Embassies. The principal missions relating to the two countries' bilateral relations are the Embassy of the United States, Accra and the Ghanaian Embassy in Washington, D.C. List of relevant U.S officials. Principal U.S. officials include: Ghana–United States relations Ghana–United States relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Ghana and United States. Both nations have generally been friendly since Ghana's independence, except for a period of strained relations during the later years of the Nkrumah regime. Ghana was 	Ghana–United States relations
3574863	List of New Zealand actors List of New Zealand actors The following is a list of New Zealand actors. List of New Zealand actors The following is a list of New Zealand actors. 	List of New Zealand actors
3574864	Nigel Hunt Nigel Hunt Nigel Hunt (born 14 May 1983 in Apia, Samoa) is a New Zealand rugby union player who most famously played for the New Zealand Sevens team. He achieved a Gold Medal along with his NZ Sevens teammates at the 2006 Commonwealth games in Melbourne. Hunt was a member of both NZ Sevens squads that won the Sevens World Circuits in 2006 and 2007. He currently plays for French Top 14 Rugby Union club Grenoble, having previously turned out for New Zealand National Provincial Championship side Bay of Plenty and Wellington. Nigel Hunt Nigel Hunt (born 14 May 1983 	Nigel Hunt
3574865	Rodrigo R. Pimentel Rodrigo R. Pimentel Rodrigo Pimentel (born on March 2, 1971, in Rio de Janeiro) is a former member of BOPE, the elite group of the Brazilian Military Police. Pimentel co-wrote the film Elite Squad", based on a book he co-wrote with sociologist Luiz Eduardo Soares and former BOPE captain André Batista. He is also noted to have participated in the Brazilian documentary by João Moreira Salles, "News From a Personal War" ("Noticias de uma Guerra Particular"). Rodrigo R. Pimentel Rodrigo Pimentel (born on March 2, 1971, in Rio de Janeiro) is a former member of BOPE, the elite