President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has welcomed the decision of the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, and his companion, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, for a three-day state visit to Ghana.
“I welcome The Prince of Wales very warmly back to Ghana, a country he knows well. He is an old friend of our country, and we look forward to receiving him, as his visit will renew and strengthen the bonds of friendship between the United Kingdom and Ghana,” the President said in a statement issued by the British High Commission.
The heir to the British throne and his wife are expected in the country from November 2 to November 4, 2018. Their tour will, however, begin in Gambia from October 31. It will also take them to Nigeria.
This is the Prince of Wale’s first visit to Commonwealth Nations after the Commonwealth Heads of Government unanimously decided in April this year that he should succeed The Queen as the Head of the Commonwealth.
Prince Charles has visited 44 out of 53 Commonwealth nations. The Duchess has been on 18 of those trips with The Prince of Wales.
However, this is the second visit of the Prince of Wales to Ghana and the first for the Duchess of Cornwall.
Prince Charles’s first visit to Ghana was in March 1977 when he attended the Golden Jubilee of Achimota School, formerly The Prince of Wales College’, and a durbar in his honour in Kumasi by Otumfuo Nana Opoku Ware II.
With another journey to Ghana on the table, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Ian Walker, said, “Their Royal Highnesses visit to Ghana comes at an opportune moment. The UK and Ghana’s shared history and common values form the basis of our enduring friendship.”
“But it’s the many and varied links between our peoples which make our ties so unique. This visit allows us to celebrate all that is good about our ties. And – importantly – to focus on shaping the common future we each want to create. This is a once-in-a-generation visit by the heir to the throne; one that I am confident will endure in the hearts and minds of us all,” he said.
The visit will highlight key themes in UK and Ghana’s relationship, including the importance of our Commonwealth ties.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Ghana on November 2 to 4, 2018. This visit will highlight the UK’s warm and enduring relationship with Ghana and the breadth of our dynamic contemporary partnership and shared values.
On arrival in Accra, the royal couple will be welcomed at the Jubilee House by President Akufo-Addo and First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
“They will attend a State Banquet organised by the Presidency in their honour celebrating the ties between the UK and Ghana, attended by senior dignitaries, a number of British Ghanaians, as well as prominent figures from business, arts, culture and media.
“The Prince will also attend a meeting with Ghanaian and international business leaders to discuss sustainable practice in Ghana’s cocoa industry and key environmental issues,” the statement said.
Additionally, the Prince of Wales will visit the Christiansborg Castle, once a Danish, and then British, slave fort, which was — until a few years ago, the seat of Ghana’s Government after independence — to discuss the future restoration and reuse of the area, as part of a major redevelopment of Accra’s waterfront, conceived by the Ghanaian Government with the Architect, Sir David Adjaye.
The two will also visit Kumasi to meet Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace. The Prince and the Duchess will also attend a traditional durbar or procession at the Palace with the Asantehene and local chiefs.
The Duchess, who is President of the Women of the World Festival, will also attend an event for a range of Ghanaian women in leadership positions.
The Women of the World (WOW) Festival is a global festival movement founded by Jude Kelly CBE in London in 2010 celebrating women and girls, and looking at the obstacles that stop them from achieving their potential. The WOW event in Ghana will include a round-table discussion with influential Ghanaian women.
Their Royal Highnesses will take part in a commemorative event to acknowledge the sacrifice made by Ghanaian soldiers during the First and Second World Wars and in more recent times during international peacekeeping missions.
