Strengthen ties between Ghana,Mexico Parliaments — Speaker
The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has called for the strengthening of the relationship between the Parliament of Ghana and its Mexican counterpart to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries for their mutual benefit.
He said already the two countries had re-established relations with the reopening of the Mexican Embassy in Accra, and that a partnership between their legislative bodies would further enhance the relationship.
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The Speaker made the call when the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Mr Julian Ventura, paid a courtesy call on him at Parliament House in Accra.
Prof. Oquaye said the two countries shared a unique relationship which dated back many years and that it was on that basis that both countries referred to each other as brother.
According to him, the reopening of the Mexican Embassy in Accra in 2014 had further strengthened the bilateral dialogue and presented new areas of collaboration that both countries could explore.
As a sign of reciprocation, he said, Ghana would also reopen its embassy in Mexico City soon, noting that preparations were ongoing to that effect.
“Mexico and Ghana will continue to promote trade and investment, as well as people-to-people contacts. Our governments will also hold more frequent informal consultations in relevant international areas,” he added.
Observations
Prof. Oquaye observed that Mexico was doing well in a number of sectors, such as agriculture, security, tourism and governance, that Ghana could emulate.
“The gender parity credential of the Mexican Parliament is one worthy of emulation because they have a better percentage of women in their Parliament than Ghana and this agenda is so dear to my heart,” he added.
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Commendation
Mr Ventura commended the Speaker for attending the swearing-in of the current President of Mexico, Mr Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
He said Prof. Oquaye had been supportive of the efforts both governments had been making to increase cooperation on various aspects of development.
According to him, the Mexican government had a programme with Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture to ensure food security and nutrition in Ghana.
Manufacturing sector
Mr Ventura also stated that Mexico was exploring opportunities in the automotive industry in Ghana because his country was a top auto hub in terms of manufacturing.
Ghana and Mexico, he said, would also cooperate on education, especially through academic exchange programmes, for which the two countries had signed an agreement between the University of Ghana and four top Mexican universities to offer scholarships in specialised engineering areas, as well as a teacher exchange programme, among other sectors.
The Mexican Deputy Minister stated that Ghana’s hosting of the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area and Mexico being a global champion of 50 Free Trade Areas could open up new avenues for collaboration to increase Mexico’s investment footprints on the African continent.
Democracy
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Keta, Mr Richard Quarshigah, stressed the need for the two parliaments to learn from each other to deepen their democracies, as well as strengthen bilateral relations.