Speaker calls for security collaboration between Ghana and Mexico

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has called for the deepening of cooperation between Ghana and Mexico in the area of security.

According to him, Ghana has a lot to learn from Mexico in terms of security because of that country’s capacity to tackle drug cartels and other heinous crimes.

Prof Oquaye made the observation when Mr Julian Ventura, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Mexico, paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Parliament House.

The Deputy Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister is on a two-day official visit to Ghana to cement the existing relation between the two nations.

Prof Oquaye also stated that Ghana had learnt a great deal from Mexico in the area of agriculture to enhance food security in the country.

He said the tourism sector is another area where Ghana can acquire the expertise from Mexico to enhance the country’s tourism drive.

He called for the establishment of an exchanged programme between the Ghanaian Parliament and their Mexican counterpart to enable MPs from both sides learn about each other’s legislature as well as increase the number of female MPs in parliament.

Mr Julian Ventura in his remark commended Speaker Prof Mike Oquaye for attending the swearing-in of the current President of Mexico, Mr Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

He said the Speaker Oquaye has been very supportive of the effort both governments have been making to increase cooperation on the various aspects of the relationship.

He said the Mexican government has a programme with the Minister of Food and Agriculture to ensure food security and nutrition in the country.

Mr Ventura also announced that Mexico was exploring opportunities in the automotive industry in Ghana, since that country was a top auto-hub in the world in terms manufacturing and exports.

He said the delegation also met Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana (UG) about their growing academic exchange programmes, where they signed agreement between UG and four top Mexican universities for scholarships, specialized engineering area, teacher exchange programmes and languages among others.

He 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 opens up new avenues for collaboration and to increase Mexico’s investment footprints on the African continent.

Mr Richard Quarshigah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Keta in his, stressed the need for the two parliaments to learn from each other to deepen their democracies as well as strengthen their bilateral relations.

He said Ghana can also learn a lot from Mexico in terms of gender activism with the intention to increase the number of female MPs in the legislature.