Professor Opoku-Agyemang welcoming Francia Elena Márquez Mina to Accra
Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang on Thursday welcomed her Colombian counterpart, Francia Elena Márquez Mina, to Accra, marking the second visit by Colombia’s vice president since she took office and signalling a deepening partnership between the two nations.
Receiving Márquez Mina, Professor Opoku-Agyemang described the visit as a reaffirmation of “deep, longstanding, and mutually respectful relations” built on shared values and common aspirations.
The vice president praised Márquez Mina’s record as a champion of racial equity, human dignity, and reparative justice, which are causes that resonate strongly across Latin America and beyond.
She also noted a convergence between Colombia’s efforts to secure reparations for communities affected by slavery and systemic marginalisation and Ghana’s prominent role in global discussions on restorative justice.
“Colombia’s commitment to advancing reparations strongly aligns with Ghana’s leadership in this vital discourse,” Vice President Opoku-Agyemang said.
On the economic front, the Ghanaian vice president highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a strategic gateway for Colombian businesses seeking access to Africa’s emerging single market of 1.3 billion people.
“Ghana stands ready to serve as Colombia’s natural entry point into this vast market,” she said, identifying agriculture, digital innovation, climate resilience, and trade investment as promising areas for collaboration. She noted that improved air and maritime connectivity between the two countries would be essential to unlocking this potential.
The meeting concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Colombia’s Diplomatic Academy and Ghana’s Foreign Service Institute, formalising academic cooperation and institutional exchanges between the two countries’ diplomatic training bodies.
Both countries hailed their relationship as a model of effective South-South cooperation and a collaboration between developing countries that bypasses traditional North-South development frameworks.
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