Deputy High Commissioner Tom Hartley's Speech at the memorandum of understanding (MOU) Signing between British Council and the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation Mr. Tom Hartley reiterated UK's commitment to supporting education & development of Kumasi and Ashanti Kingdom LONDON, United Kingdom, May 13, 2019/APO Group/ -- Speaking at the MoU signing between British Council and the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Charity Foundation, Deputy High Commissioner to Ghana Mr. Tom Hartley reiterated UK's commitment to supporting education & development of Kumasi and Ashanti Kingdom. By Mr. Tom Hartley Your Majesty / Lady Julia Osei Tutu / Honorable Ministers / members of parliament, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, dear guests, Niimei, Naamei, Nananom, Torgbewo, Mamawo All protocols observed. “Maakye, 3tes3n?” [Good morning, how are you?] I am ‘Kojo’ Hartley. I am delighted to have been invited to speak here today on behalf of the British High Commissioner and the UK government. I hope my participation at today’s momentous MoU signing ceremony between the British Council and the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Charity Foundation is testament to the British High Commission and the British Council’s share in the development of Kumasi and the Ashanti Kingdom. First, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate His Majesty the Asantehene on the 20th Anniversary of his enstoolment and his 69th birthday. I wish him many more years of peace and prosperity upon The Golden Stool. The ties between the UK and the Ashanti Kingdom have been strong for generations. I was delighted to have witnessed, a historic moment for the region when, last November, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall met His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene (the King of the Ashanti) and his wife, Lady Julia Osei Tutu and the Queen Mothers, at Manhyia Palace. They felt the warm welcome of the Ashanti people during the ‘Akwasidae’ Grand Durbar, and experienced the richness of Ashanti culture in the company of HM the Asantehene, Lady Julia, The Queen Mothers, local Chiefs, religious leaders and guests throughout the Ashanti kingdom. And I am proud of the strong Anglo-Ashanti connection which is so much more than warm words. Just last week, a British company, Contracta UK, cut the sod on the second phase of the Kejetia Market Project in the presence of the British High Commissioner, His Majesty the Asantehene and His Excellency The President Nana Akufo-Addo. This development, backed by UK Export Finance, will modernise Kejetia Market and ensure that Kumasi remains a vital trading hub in West Africa, and that Ghana’s famed second city continues to be recognised across the region as the place to do business. And we are also backing the completion of Bekwai Hospital, through UKEF’s guarantee of a £17 million loan that will deliver 120 new beds, an emergency department, a maternity ward and an operating theatre. These are tangible examples of our investment in the development of the Ashanti Kingdom and the strong bonds of friendship with Manhyia Palace. I am delighted that British Council’s work in Kumasi is another leading example of our commitment to the Ashanti Kingdom. In Ghana, Kumasi is the only other city, outside of Accra, where the British Council has an office (Nigeria is the only other West African country that has a regional British Council presence). A clear demonstration of our commitment to supporting the educational development of the Ashanti people. The British Council offer is diverse and world-class. Through its pioneering work, the British Council is delivering programmes that extend across a range of cultural, technical and educational sectors: