“I received this morning Vice President of Colombia, @FranciaMarquezM, to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues,” Ahmed wrote on his X profile.

Marquez arrived in this capital on Monday, leading a delegation composed of officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Commerce, Agriculture, Environment, the Colombian Agricultural Institute, the Presidential Agency for Cooperation, Civil Aeronautics, Free and Productive Women’s Fund, among other institutions.

The tour of Africa, which will include visits to Mozambique, Madagascar, and Nigeria, is the third official visit by the current Colombian administration to the continent.

The Colombian Vice Presidency informed that the visit aims to strengthen and expand diplomatic, economic, educational, political, cultural, and cooperation relations.

Marquez visited Ethiopia in May 2023 and held official talks with Ahmed, then-President Sahle Work-Zewde, and then-Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, who expressed her gratitude for Bogota’s decision to reopen its embassy in this capital after nearly 50 years.

Ethiopia and Colombia established official diplomatic relations in 1947. The South American nation opened its diplomatic headquarters in 1967 and closed it in 1974.

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