Asantehene to attend Emancipation Day celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago as Special Guest

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will visit Trinidad and Tobago for this year’s Emancipation Day celebrations where he will be the Special Guest. This is in response to an invitation extended by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Keith Rowley which the King responded to in March.

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday newspaper, the Royal visit would span six days.

Arrival
His Majesty will arrive in Trinidad and Tobago on July 30, the Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Amery Browne announced at a press conference on Thursday.

“African royalty from Ghana will be joining Trinidad and Tobago in its Emancipation Day celebrations on August 1,” he said.

He said Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will arrive on July 30 and will be part of a series of events taking him to August 4 when he will leave the island country of the southeastern West Indies.

Deepening Ties
Dr Browne added that from the Ghanaian side, the intention is that this royal visit will further strengthen ties that bind the countries culturally and historically.

Activities
His Majesty will be taken to the Emancipation Village, Queen’s Park Savannah (QPS) for an event when he arrives.
He will then pay courtesy calls to the President and Prime Minister.

The Asantehene will be hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee at a trade and investment symposium to bolster trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean. He will also be hosted at a dinner at the Diplomatic Centre.

On Emancipation Day, he will partake in the procession joined by Dr Keith Rowley from the Brian Lara Promenade to the QPS. Remarks will be made by the King.

Also, a cocktail reception will be held at Hilton Trinidad. The next day, His Majesty will be taken to Tobago for a tour and upon his return, he will visit the Desperadoes pan yard.

On August 3, he will visit the Yoruba Village Square, and that evening he will be at a cultural programme at the National Academy of Performing Arts. On his last day, he will tour the Point Lisas Industrial Estate before his departure.

Emancipation Day
It marks the end of slavery in the British Empire. It is a public holiday in Trinidad and Tobago on August 1.
Emancipation day has been celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago since 1985 when it became the first country in the world to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery.

Emancipation day replaced Columbus Discovery Day, which marked the arrival of Christopher Columbus on Trinidad on July 31 1498.