Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez met with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama to discuss the historical ties between Cuba and Ghana and to strengthen their bilateral relations as part of his official tour across five African countries. « We recalled the historical ties between our nations and the friendship forged between Kwame Nkrumah, the leader of the fight for freedom and Ghana’s first president, and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, » Rodríguez said on his Twitter account Thursday evening.
The Cuban minister also emphasized to Mahama the crucial importance that Cuba places on its cooperation with Ghana. Earlier, Rodríguez met with his Ghanaian counterpart, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, to enhance the bilateral political dialogue and « revitalize » the economic, trade, and cooperation relations between the two nations.
During his official visit to Ghana, Rodríguez was received on Wednesday by Alban Bagbin, the President of the Ghanaian Parliament, with whom he expressed Cuba’s desire to develop interparliamentary ties. On Tuesday, he also laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Kwame Nkrumah in Accra, calling him a « great promoter of African unity. »
After his visit to Ghana, Rodríguez continued his African tour by traveling to Nigeria, where he met with his counterpart Yusuf Maitama Tuggar. Together, they signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening political and diplomatic exchanges, as well as academic and bilateral cooperation. Rodríguez also met with Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, expressing Cuba’s interest in expanding parliamentary ties.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Nigeria. Rodríguez also met with the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, to discuss relations between Cuba and the organization.
The Cuban minister also held talks with Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré and key political leaders before heading to Ethiopia, where he met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other leaders. He also celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.
In addition to these meetings, Rodríguez visited South Africa, where he discussed with the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, the strengthening of « historical ties » and support for the global South development agenda.
His tour coincides with the visit of Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, who recently traveled to the Republic of Congo and plans to visit Namibia and Equatorial Guinea.