Mexican Ambassador to Ghana, Maria de los Arrirola Aguirre, is expected to speak at the country's first three-day international conference on trade and finance in Accra.

The event, according to the organisers, will bring together players in the trade and finance sectors spanning agriculture, manufacturing, insurance, construction, import and export as well as foreign businesses from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

The conference is expected to be opened with a keynote address by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Dr Mukhisa Kituyi.

The opening day will also see addresses by reputable personalities on trade opportunities for local traders from Ghana. The session will point out both new and other specific existing opportunities that have not been taken advantage of but have been available.

There will also be a special address by Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen, who is expected to speak on how the private sector can drive government’s One District, One Factory agenda.

The second day will focus strictly on how to finance the opportunities exposed on the first day. It will have finance experts from several institutions dealing specifically with how funds can be accessed to take advantage of the opportunities brought to the fore from the first day.

The third day will see an exhibition where both international and local exhibitors will showcase their products and services to the potential buyers and sellers.

Ms María de los Angeles Arriola Aguirre was born in Mexico City in September 1959 and is a graduate of the Political and Social Sciences School at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, with a B.A. in International Relations.

Ms Arriola-Aguirre is a career member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1984.

She has served at the Embassies of Mexico in Uruguay, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Morocco, and actually in Ghana. In the multilateral field, she was also member of the Mexican Permanent Missions to the Latin America Integration Association (ALADI), the World Food Programme (WFP) and to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she has held various positions at the General Directorate of International Boundaries, the General Directorate of Multilateral, European, Asian and African economic affairs. Before being nominated Ambassador in Ghana, she served as Deputy Director General for Europe.