“I wanted to congratulate you on your election as President of the Republic of Ghana.

I recognise that it was a  hard-fought campaign, and that your margin of victory was very impressive,” a message dated December 13 from Prime Minister May to Nana Akufo Addo said. Ms May recalled the strong and long-standing relations between both countries, saying she valued it deeply.”

She expressed optimism about the future saying, “The period ahead would offer us a great opportunity to do more for our respective countries. “I look forward to continuing our excellent cooperation on defence, drugs, crime, and national security, and to working together on challenges such as tackling corruption, alongside our ongoing support to Ghana in areas such as governance, poverty reduction, education and health.

“I hope that we can deepen our economic cooperation.”

Ms May became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in July 2016, taking over from Mr David Cameron.