The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has made a historic visit to Poland, headlining a Warsaw event that spotlighted Ghana and Africa as partners for European business and investment.
The King of the Asante Kingdom arrived in Warsaw on 27 May for a five day working visit and appeared as guest of honour at the TOP CHARITY ChangeMAKERS 2026 gala on 30 May. The event was organised by entrepreneur Omenaa Mensah, who is of Polish and Ghanaian heritage, and her husband, the Polish businessman Rafał Brzoska.
Held under the theme “The Age of Reimagination,” the gathering was described as the first visit to Poland by an Asante monarch and drew figures including former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Finance Minister Andrzej Domański and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér.
Organisers framed Africa as an investment destination rather than an aid recipient, pointing to its young and growing population, rising internet use and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and highlighting rapid growth in fintech and mobile money across the continent.
In his address, the Asantehene drew parallels between the experiences of Poland and Africa, saying their “histories are not identical, but they resonate with one another,” before calling for partnerships built on cooperation and shared responsibility.
The organisers recalled more than six decades of Poland and Ghana ties, including Kwame Nkrumah’s 1961 visit to Warsaw and the African students who trained in Poland in the 1960s. Mensah, whose late father was of Asante descent and studied medicine in Poland, said she hoped the visit would reopen that chapter.
The Asantehene’s office has said the trip forms part of efforts to deepen cultural, diplomatic, educational and developmental ties, with the monarch expected to travel on to Canada before returning to Ghana.
