Buckingham event helps strengthen links with ‘important trading partner’

People gathered in the University of Buckingham’s Vinson Centre to hear a lecture given by the vice-president of Ghana and university alumnus Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
University vice-chancellor James Tooley welcomes the Ghana delegationUniversity vice-chancellor James Tooley welcomes the Ghana delegation
University vice-chancellor James Tooley welcomes the Ghana delegation

In the event, the talk was livestreamed from Ghana as His Excellency was unable to travel, but a delegation of senior government officials from Ghana attended.

Entitled ‘Ghana’s Role in shaping Africa’s Economic Transformation through Digitalisation and Strengthened Relations with the UK, this was the fourth annual Centre for UN studies lecture.

The university has had a high number of students coming from Ghana, and former banker Dr Bawumia, who is one of Ghana's leading economists, was awarded a first class degree in Economics at Buckingham.

The lecture was livestreamedThe lecture was livestreamed
The lecture was livestreamed

Giving the introductory speeches were university vice-chancellor James Tooley, Lord Mark Malloch Brown, a former Minister of State for Africa and the United Nations, and director of the university's Centre for UN Studies, Mark Seddon.

Mark said: "We were delighted by the numbers who either attended in person or watched the lecture given by the vice-president of Ghana, Dr Mahamuda Bawumia - who was himself a former University of Buckingham student - via livestream.

"The university has been developing strong links with Ghana.

"This event, combined with the visit by the High Commissioner of Ghana and his senior team, has ensured that these links have just become a good deal stronger still.

"Ghana is a respected member of both the United Nations and the Commonwealth and an important trading partner with the UK, which of course has strong historical ties to the country."