The Colombian President, Mr Juan Manuel Santos, has expressed his admiration for the qualitative leadership being provided by President John Dramani Mahama in Africa.
He said Africa stood to benefit immensely from President Mahama’s leadership style, and, therefore, pledged the support of the government and people of Colombia to enable him to achieve more for the continent.
Mr Santos made the commendation when the two leaders met on Monday on the margins of the seventh session of the World Urban Forum in Medellin, Columbia.
The forum was officially opened by the Colombian leader, with President Mahama delivering the keynote address in his capacity as a champion of the African Urban Agenda.
President Santos expressed his appreciation to President Mahama for the support he gave in the opening of the Colombian Embassy in Accra.
Cooperation
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed ways of developing further cooperation and mutual support to find solutions to the common problems that the two nations faced, especially in the areas of sustainable development and illegal mining.
President Mahama observed that Africa and South America were geographically linked, adding; “The Atlantic should not be a barrier but a bridge between the two continents”.
He noted that Ghana’s growing economy and its status as a middle-income economy provided opportunities for closer partnership with Colombia.
President Mahama called for public-private partnerships to provide a modern public transportation system for Ghana.
Innovative policies
The two leaders also discussed matters relating to the innovative policies that had been successfully applied in transforming Medellin, including skills development and training for youth.
Present during the discussions were the Colombian Foreign Minister, Maria Angela Holguin; Senior Adviser to the President, Alhaji Baba Kamara; the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Opong-Fosu; the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije; and the Head of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Ben Dotsei Malor.
