The Vice President of Colombia, Francia Márquez, announced during the High-Level CELAC-Africa Forum held in Bogotá the signing of a trade agreement with Ghana to establish a maritime transport route between the port of Cartagena de Indias and the port of Tema. Márquez explained that this initiative seeks to strengthen trade and investment ties between Latin America and Africa, and assured that it marks 'the beginning of a new era' in the relationship between Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean after decades of 'scattered and intermittent' ties. 'Today we must transform routes of suffering into routes of freedom to mobilize opportunities and hope,' added Márquez during her speech at the forum. The 33 countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and delegations from 19 African countries met on Saturday, March 21, in Bogotá to reinforce their commitment to South-South cooperation, in a day marked by the call for 'reconnection' between the two regions and the search for a joint development agenda. The High-Level CELAC-Africa Forum, which precedes the X Summit of Heads of State and Government of CELAC, was attended by the presidents of Colombia, Gustavo Petro; Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
