The Ambassador of Peru to Ghana, Madam Rosa Liliana Gomez Cardenas de Weston, engaged with Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts to explore avenues for deeper bilateral cooperation in the creative economy. Ambassador Gomez Cardenas de Weston paid a courtesy call to the Minister, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, where she commended the Ministry for the successful organization of the recent Afro Gastro Festival. She described the event as a timely and important platform that allowed Peru to showcase its identity, culinary heritage, and cultural presence in Ghana. The Ambassador noted Peru’s eagerness to share best practices and exchange knowledge with Ghana, particularly in areas where Peru has garnered global recognition.
She highlighted that Peru boasts numerous UNESCO-recognized tourist sites and has successfully developed gastronomy into a thriving tourism pillar, which has won international awards. The country’s tourism model, she underscored, effectively utilizes native products, ecological tourism experiences, cruise tourism, and cultural exchanges to attract global visitors.
To formally solidify this collaboration, the Ambassador proposed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry and extended an invitation for a Ghanaian delegation to visit Peru for first-hand exposure to its successful tourism model.
Minister Gomashie, in turn, thanked the Ambassador and the Peruvian community for their participation and support during the Afro Gastro Festival. She revealed a significant development for the creative and culinary sectors: the African Union has expressed interest in marking its 60th anniversary celebrations in Ghana with new editions of the Afro Gastro Festival scheduled for October and December next year. The Minister assured the Ambassador of Ghana’s readiness to formalize cooperation through an MoU, emphasizing that such an agreement would enable both countries to deepen ties and learn from each other’s strengths in promoting Tourism, Culture, and the Creative Arts.
The Ambassador also shared Peru’s experience in recovering cultural artifacts taken 400–500 years ago, noting that some items have been voluntarily returned by expatriates. She stated that Peru has legislation supporting restitution and is willing to share its expertise with Ghana. Minister Gomashie welcomed the knowledge exchange, underscoring Ghana’s active efforts on restitution issues. She assured the Ambassador that as Acting Chair of the ECOWAS Committee on restitution, Ghana continues to work hard to ensure the return of its stolen or looted items, following significant successes already achieved by countries like Nigeria and Benin.
Ruth Abla ADJORLOLO
