The daughter of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England, Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne will be in Ghana from today, Monday the 3rd, to Tuesday the 4th of April, 2017. News about Princess Anne’s Ghana Visit was first disclosed in a statement from the Buckingham Palace, and subsequently by the British High Commission in Ghana.
According to the statement, Princess Anne visits Ghana to identify with the country as it celebrates its 60th Independence Anniversary. Making reference to Ghana’s Independence themes, the statement pointed out that the UK’s relations with Ghana is an embodiment of such themes.
“Ghana is marking its 60th Anniversary with themes of reflection, celebration, challenge and togetherness. Its partnership with the UK embodies just that – built on deep social and cultural ties and a shared future,” part of the statement reads.
During the visit, Princess Anne will among other things hold bilateral talks with His Excellency, President Nana Akufo-Addo. She is also expected to meet a number of distinguished personalities in the country, including the Asantehene, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II and former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
The statement from the British High Commission reveals that Princess Anne’s Ghana visit will encompass a diversified programme that aims at empowering women, exploring the significance of support for girls, female education and entrepreneurs in delivering the future of Ghana as a country.
Included in the programme is a visit to the award winning enterprise, benefiting from a DFID programme called ENGINE, which has so far supported 49 micro and small enterprises across in different areas, visits to some Non-Governmental Organisations, as well as interaction with students in remote areas. The Princess is also billed to meet with some UK volunteers, including the alumni of UK sponsored scholarship programmes, Chevening, Commonwealth and the Queens Young Leaders.
Furthermore, The Princess Royal will commemorate links between the UK’s and Ghana’s Armed Forces by partaking in a ceremony at Christiansburg War Memorial, and also meeting with senior members of the Ghanaian military, veterans, cadets and successful women working in the Ghana armed forces. These meetings are aimed at availing The Princess the opportunity to witness the various challenges being faced by these groups and institutions as well as to proffer solutions.
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Meanwhile, it is perceived that Princess Anne has a special liking for Ghana; this being the third time she will be visiting the country in a decade. The Princess was in Ghana in 1998 and in 2011. This current visit will serve as a sequel to the previous ones, as she will be undertaking a wide range of activities that will contribute to reinforcing bilateral relations with Ghana.
Princess Anne’s Ghana visit will be followed by a two-day visit to Sierra Leon; both being part of her tour of the West African continent this year. The Princess Royal last visited the two West African countries in 2011. Her visit then had also bordered around series of engagements meant to improve the UK’s affiliations with the countries.
Ghana is among the very few countries outside Europe to be visited by a member of England’s Royal Family, with other members of the family visiting countries in the European Union (EU) to strengthen bilateral relations, ahead of the UK’s exit from the union in 2019.
Ghana also remains one of the African countries that attract the highest number of visitors from the international community. Since the dawn of 2017, a lot of international diplomats have visited the country for one reason or the other, especially to strengthen affiliations in varying fields of endeavour. Aside the UK Secretary, Boris Johnson, Former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, FIFA President, Gianni Infantino as well as the King of Morocco have all been in the country since January.
Princess Anne’s Ghana visit comes not long after she was named the most hard working royal of 2017 so far; having worked a total of 44 days since the start of the year – undertaking about a quarter of The Royal Family’s entire workload over the period. She will be the UK diplomat with the highest profile to visit both Ghana and Sierra Leone in 2017.
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