Public servants begin Spanish course
Seventy public servants have begun a six-month Spanish language course to enhance their proficiency in Spanish.
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This is to enhance their capacity to operate effectively in Spanish-speaking countries.
The course is being organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Colombia Embassy in Ghana and Universidad Pontificia Bolivarianade Medellin, a Colombian university.
The course is in pursuance of a memorandum of understanding ( MoU) signed between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Hanna Tetteh, and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs when she visited Colombia this year.
Two professors from the Colombia Universidad Pontificia Bolivarianade Medellin are facilitators of the programme.
Ambassador Thomas Kwesi Quartey, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in his opening remarks, said the Spanish language united the whole Latin American countries.
He said because Ghana had established diplomatic ties with those countries, there was the
need for diplomats to study the Spanish language in order to work effectively with them.
He said there was a lot to gain from studying the language because it would enable them to know each other well culturally and unite the people of Ghana and Latin America.
The Colombian Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Claudia Torbay Quintero, said the course was important, since it would enable Ghana and Colombia to work together for their mutual benefit.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ambassador Leslie Kojo Christian, said there was the need for those in the diplomatic service to study basic Spanish skills so they could function efficiently in Spanish countries where they were posted.