A statement signed by Mr Jon Benjamin, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, and copied to the Ghana News Agency said: "I am very pleased to announce that Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, daughter of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, will visit Ghana from this evening as part of a two-country visit to West Africa that also encompasses Sierra Leone."

It said this visit, The Princess Royal’s third to Ghana, would celebrate the unique friendship between the UK and Ghana as Ghana marks her 60th Anniversary of Independence.  It noted that it would also reinforce the strength and depth of the bilateral relations of the two countries.

"Ghana is marking its 60th Anniversary with themes of reflection, celebration, challenge and togetherness," the statement said.  "Its partnership with the UK embodies just that – built on deep social and cultural ties and a shared future," it added.

The statement said it was, therefore, fitting that Princess Anne’s visit would mix tradition and modernity as she met President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Flagstaff House, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the Royal Palace in Kumasi, Former President Kufuor, and hosted a reception with guests from different parts of the Ghanaian society.

It said The Princess Royal would undertake a wide-range of programmes that built on her previous visits in 1998 and 2011.  The statement said it focused on empowering women who acted as role models for others, exploring the importance of support for girls, female education and entrepreneurs in delivering Ghana’s future.

It said she would pay a visit to an award winning enterprise, benefiting from a DFID programme called ENGINE, which had so far supported 49 micro and small enterprises across a range of sectors, from indigenous cosmetic products such as Black Soap and Shea Butter, to environmentally friendly and sustainable bamboo bicycles frames.

"The Princess Royal will experience first-hand the challenges micro and small enterprises face but also what is possible with the right determination and help," it said.

It said The Princess Royal would interact with students in remote schools in the Greater Accra Region through an innovative distance learning programme - delivered by the Varkey Foundation - that was bringing quality education to thousands of children in rural areas through funding from the UK.

The statement said the Varkey Foundation was a not-for-profit organisation established to improve the standards of education for underprivileged children throughout the world.   It said similarly, Princess Anne would meet young girls and women who were  members of CAMA girls’ alumni network who had been supported by Camfed, a UK funded, non-profit organisation that supported young girls to go to school and empowered young women to step up as leaders of change.

It said she would also commemorate links between the UK’s and Ghana’s Armed Forces, partake in a ceremony at Christiansburg War Memorial alongside the Minister of Defence.   The statement said Princess Anne would also meet with senior members of the Ghanaian Military, veterans, cadets and successful women working in the Ghana Armed Forces.

The statement said: "The visit will offer an opportunity to celebrate the range of people-to-people links that underpin the bilateral relationship, including volunteers as The Princess Royal visits the local operations of some of the charities and Non-Governmental Organisations of which she is patron, which include VSO International and Opportunity International UK.

 "And she will meet with a number of UK volunteers including the alumni of UK sponsored scholarship programmes, Chevening, Commonwealth and the Queens Young Leaders."  It said The UK and Ghana already enjoyed a special relationship, a unique friendship steeped in history and built upon deep social, cultural and inter-personal links adding; “both nations are adapting quickly to the shared challenges ahead of them."  

The statement said Princess Anne’s visit to Ghana came at an exciting period for the UK/Ghana relationship. "As we reflect on the past 60 years, The Princess Royal’s visit is a fantastic opportunity for us to reinforce the strength and depth of bilateral relations and look forward to the next 60 years," it said.