Similar activities have been held since last Sunday in the United Kingdom and around the globe, while goodwill messages were also sent by the Royal family to mark this very important and historic moment.

The celebration is being marked as a number of other notable milestones are also observed, such as the centenary of British Airways and 70 years of the United Kingdom Export Finance, the 70th anniversary of the Commonwealth, the centenary of the Chief Imam of Ghana and the celebration of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s 20 years on the Golden Stool.

The event, which was attended by various dignitaries, including the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ato Afful, members of the British community, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of Parliament (MPs), ministers of state and religious and traditional leaders, had great performances by top artistes such as Ef-eea, the Jollof Balls, the Characters and King Promise who has a huge number of his own hits like Oh Yeah, Abena, Selfish and Tokyo - the only hit song with London and Tema in the lyrics.

Ghana Beyond Aid

Delivering his address to mark the birthday which was focused on ‘Tourism’, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Iain Walker, said the commission was working side by side Ghana to realise our shared commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to ensure that no one was left behind as Ghana moved beyond aid.

To do this properly, he said they were significantly expanding the UK Government’s footprint in Ghana by 10 per cent, with new frontline policy work on trade, trade policy, investment, defence, serious and organised crime, cyber security, infrastructure, climate change, illegal wildlife trade and a new Diaspora office.

Mr Walker said this was a clear sign of their commitment to the partnership as they left the European Union, a commitment to supporting ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ and their commitment to invest in Ghana as a leader across West Africa and the Commonwealth.

Mr Walker said, “My focus as High Commissioner is to prioritise and develop the UK-Ghana Partnership” to make it even better.

Gloria Akuffo

In her address, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Ms Gloria Akuffo, who led the government delegation to the Queen’s birthday party, extended warm felicitations on behalf of President Akufo-Addo to Her Majesty the Queen and to the government and people of the United Kingdom.

She noted that Ghana continued to be a proud and active member of the Commonwealth, which also continued to promote strong ties among its 33 member states across five continents.

Ms Akuffo noted that the evidence-based National Youth Policy of the Commonwealth, which has a population of 2 billion, was very welcome.