Asantehene, Kufuor in Vatican

The Asantehene,  Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has arrived in the Vatican City for an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis.  The meeting takes place today.

A statement issued by Mr Kofi Badu, the Chief of Staff at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, said the Asantehene was accompanied by a delegation of the Ashanti Royal Family,  traditional rulers and eminent statesmen, including former President John Agyekum Kufuor.

Lady Julia Osei Tutu and her two children — Oheneba Afua Kobi Serwa Ampem Osei Tutu and Oheneba Kwame Kyeretwie Osei Tutu — will make up the Royal party.

The eminent chiefs in the delegation are Nana Otuo Sirebuor II, the Juabenhene and former member of the Council of State; Nana Effah Appenteng, the Bompatahene and former Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Nana Nsuase Poku Agyemang, the Asantehene’s Chief Linguist.

According to the statement, Otumfuo Osei Tutu and the delegation will also call on the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, which has its headquarters in Rome.