Colombia’s Vice President, Francia Elena Márquez Mina, has underscored Ghana’s importance in her country’s efforts to reconnect with the world through strategic trade partnerships, citing the strong historical and cultural ties between the two nations.

She said Colombia was keen to deepen trade relations with Ghana, particularly through enhanced cooperation between their ports, as a means of improving livelihoods in both countries.

Vice President Márquez Mina made the remarks during a visit to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), where she led a high-level Colombian business delegation to explore investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade relations.

The visit, she explained, was aimed at identifying areas of mutual commercial interest while expanding economic and trade cooperation between Ghana and Colombia.

She highlighted the central role ports play in national economic development and called for stronger collaboration between ports in both countries to promote growth and shared prosperity.

According to her, Colombia is interested in exporting goods to Ghana and establishing a direct maritime route between the two countries, noting that such a connection is geographically feasible through one of Colombia’s two main ports. She also proposed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise cooperation between Colombian and Ghanaian ports.

Vice President Márquez Mina further announced that Colombia would host an African Trade Forum in March 2026 and extended an invitation to the GPHA to participate in the event.

She stressed the need to transform historical maritime routes once linked to the transatlantic slave trade into modern corridors of trade, partnership and mutual development.

The delegation was received on behalf of the Director-General of the GPHA by the Director of the Port of Tema, Mr Tebon Zumah, along with other senior officials of the Authority.

Mr Zumah reaffirmed the importance of efficient port infrastructure to international trade and welcomed the proposal for closer collaboration between Ghanaian and Colombian ports. He expressed support for exchange programmes between ports in both countries to promote knowledge sharing and capacity building.

He also highlighted Ghana’s strategic position as a gateway to landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, noting that Colombia could use Ghana’s ports to access these regional markets. In addition, he pointed to opportunities for tourism development through the introduction of passenger vessel services.

As part of the visit, Vice President Márquez Mina and her delegation toured key facilities at the Port of Tema, including the Meridian Port Services (MPS) Terminal Three and the Fruit Terminal, where they observed ongoing port operations.