Colombia President’s mother to market Kenya as tourism destination
By Josephine NjorogeMrs. Juliana Marquez Tono, mother of Republic of Colombia President Iván Duque Márquez, of the Republic of Colombia has expressed her surprise at how motor vehicle traffic is well managed in Kenya compared to her home country.
She made the observation when paying a courtesy call to Kenya First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
“The traffic jams in Kenya are nothing compared to Colombia because in Colombia one can spend about two hours to reach a short distance,” said Mrs. Tono.
She, however, noted that through the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, provides residents with efficient and safe mass transportation that Kenya can emulate.
Tono and Kenyatta also discussed development and infrastructure matters in both countries including tourism promotion, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people interactions.
Mrs. Tono, who offered to promote Kenya’s tourist attractions in Colombia, congratulated the First Lady for her transformative programs for disadvantaged women and children and invited her to visit the South American nation to share her experience. “I read about you and I love it. This is great work that you are doing and we want to come and talk about it,” said the mother of Colombian President.
Mrs. Tono is in the country on a maiden visit to Africa and Kenya during which she will visit various tourist attractions in the country among them the globally renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve in Narok County.
During their meeting, Margaret Kenyatta said Kenya and Colombia enjoy cordial bilateral relations dating back to 1975 it set up a diplomatic mission in Nairobi and challenged Kenyans to leverage on the good ties to explore growth opportunities in the South American nation.