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This week we are very pleased that
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, the daughter of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, will visit Ghana as part of a
two-country visit to West Africa.
This will be the most
high-profile visit to Ghana from the UK this year. And it is the third
visit by a member of the Royal family, and the second by HRH The
Princess Royal, in the last 5 years. This reflects the continued
interest amongst members of the Royal family in Ghana, in its future
development, in its relationship with the UK, and in our mutual
interests in the Commonwealth.
A mix of tradition and modernity
will feature strongly in HRH The Princess Royal’s visit to Ghana. She
will undertake a series of engagements designed to celebrate the
strength and depth of the bilateral relationship.
She will, for
example, call on the President at Osu Castle, celebrate links between
the UK’s and Ghana’s Armed Forces, and receive briefings on the work
undertaken in support of Ghana’s continued development by the UK
Government’s Department for International Development.
In
addition to acknowledging these existing strong links between our two
nations, HRH The Princess Royal will have the opportunity to look at new
areas of growth, for Ghana and for UK business.
She will see how
the Tullow Oil-led operation is supporting the development of Ghana’s
off-shore oil industry, a key contribution to the rapid development of
Ghana’s economy, and a pillar upon which Ghana’s remarkable dynamic
growth is being built.
Another important element of HRH The
Princess Royal’s visit will be to highlight and thank those involved in
maintaining the significant range of people-to-people links that
underpin the bilateral relationship.
HRH The Princess Royal will
have the opportunity to visit the local operations of some of the
charities and Non-Governmental Organisations of which she is patron –
VSO, Opportunity International and Latitude. And she will attend a
special sports event between local schools linked to counterparts in the
UK within the British Council’s school-linking programme.
HRH
The Princess Royal’s visit to Ghana occurs at the same time as the
meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government in Perth. Commonwealth Heads
meet every two years to assess the work of the Commonwealth and to set
its future course.
This is an example of a shared interest
between our two nations. And our two governments also share objectives
for the current meeting – both the UK and Ghana want to ensure that the
Commonwealth remains a relevant organisation, helping its members to
tackle the challenges of the modern world, working in mutual support and
promoting each other’s development.
HRH The Princess Royal’s
visit to Ghana comes at a tremendously exciting period for the UK, and
for the UK/Ghana relationship. With excitement and interest at high
levels since the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in April,
two spectacular events are planned for 2012.
The first will be
the celebration in June 2012 in the UK and across the Commonwealth of
Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee Year – the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. This will be swiftly
followed in July 2012 by London’s hosting of the Summer Olympic and
Paralympic Games – the Greatest Show on Earth.
The Commonwealth’s
2 billion citizens will be cheering on their athletes at home, while
many of them will visit the UK to experience the Games first-hand and
the UK’s famous hospitality, energy and cultural and geographical
diversity.
This extraordinary sporting and cultural spectacle will be followed by Glasgow’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
During
this time, I am confident that the UK will show not only why it is one
of the most exciting places to live, visit and work in the world, but
also why it is such an open, connected, dynamic and creative country,
that successfully combines history and tradition with modernity and
innovation.
And the UK/Ghana relationship will, over the next 12
months, develop in new and enhanced ways. As Ghana prepares for its
4-yearly elections, the UK will be ready to help support the democratic
process, promoting bilateral trade to boost both of our economies, and
finding new and innovative ways in which the people-to-people links can
be recognised and harnessed.
We hope to see many people at the
London 2012 Olympic venues supporting Ghana’s athletes – for example
Margaret Simpson in the heptathlon, Ghana’s “Black Bombers” in the
boxing ring, and up and coming judo hopeful Trooper Emmanuel Nartey,
serving in the British Army, in the dojo.
The UK and Ghana
already enjoy a special relationship, a unique friendship built upon
deep social and cultural links. Both nations are steeped in a long
history, separately and together. And both nations are adapting quickly
to the challenges ahead of them. These challenges are shared – continued
economic growth, climate change, the threat from crime and lawlessness,
the abuse of human rights, strengthening democracy around the world.
And the opportunities to work in partnership to confront those
challenges are numerous. |
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| Source: Peter Jones - High Commissioner |
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