His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, last week hosted the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in a private audience at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. They discussed the role of traditional leadership in advancing financial health.
The discussions explored how closer engagement between traditional leaders and financial institutions can help ensure that financial services better respond to people’s needs and support stronger financial well-being.
Meeting
The meeting was premised on the fact that Traditional authorities hold an important place in Ghanaian society, with strong influence and deep connections to the communities they serve.
Their valuable role in building trust in financial services, raising awareness about available opportunities and encouraging greater financial inclusion, occasioned the Manhyia Palace meeting which coincided with the observation of the Awukudae celebrations.
The meeting afforded the two the opportunity to renew their longstanding cordial relationship, with discussions reflecting on family, previous visits and personal connections – a friendship that dates back to 2002, when Máxima first visited Manhyia as Princess, alongside then Prince Willem-Alexander.
During the engagement, Queen Máxima commended the Asantehene for his efforts in promoting unity and maintaining harmony within the Asante Kingdom.
As a token of goodwill, Queen Máxima presented the Asante Monarch with a decorative Delft Blue ceramic wall plate featuring an appliquéd design, together with an autographed photograph of herself.
In return, Lady Julia Osei Tutu presented the Queen with a beautiful blue-and-green Kente cloth, which Queen Máxima proudly draped over her shoulders.
She had earlier stunned onlookers by dancing Adowa on the tarmac at Prempeh I International Airport
The Queen was accompanied by H.E. Jeroen Verheul, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ghana; Peter McConaghy, Senior Advisor to the UNSGSA; Thys Hoekman, the Queen’s Private Secretary and other senior officials.
She later held a roundtable talk with Asante chiefs and queens on financial health and resilience.
The relationship between the Asante Kingdom and the Netherlands spans over 170 years, bridging the interior Asante Empire with Dutch trading interests on the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana).
Successive kings of Asante maintained diplomatic and administrative ties with Dutch authorities through the 18th and mid-19th centuries, documented extensively in trade and administrative studies
Modern engagements between the Netherlands and the Asante Kingdom continue through cultural exchanges, heritage preservation and high-level visits, such as Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visit to Manhyia Palace in Kumasi last week.
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