PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar on Friday evening hosted a reception at the lawns of State House to formally welcome the reigning Miss Universe, Leila Lopes from Angola, who is currently on a visit to Guyana and made a guest appearance at the 2012 Miss Guyana Universe Pageant.

The Head of State in his brief remarks spoke of the long-standing ties between Guyana and Africa as a whole; and noted that a significant part of the Guyanese population has its origin in Africa.
“We share many things; we have a lot of commonality… it is very good to have you here as a representative of the people of Angola, a place that we have heard so much about,” the President said.
Lopes made history as the first woman from that country to win the Miss Universe, was crowned in Sao Paulo, Brazil.