President Buhari To Leave Abuja For Spain
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to leave Abuja today for the capital of Spain, Madrid, on a three-day official visit.
This will be his first trip to the country since he became President.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina.
Adeshina said the visit to Spain is on the invitation of the Spanish President, Pedro Sanchez.
He noted that the President, during the visit, will meet with the Head of State of the Spanish nation, His Majesty King Felipe VI.
President Buhari will be accompanied by some senior government officials, and also be engaging in diplomatic exercises, which are targeted at enhancing Nigeria’s interest.
According to Adeshina, “During his engagements with both leaders, the Nigerian President will discuss issues of mutual interest to both countries, which will expectedly result in the signing of Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding on a wide range of topics, geared towards further enhancing the bilateral relations between the two nations.
“Such areas include: Extradition and transfer of convicted persons, Mutual Legal Assistance, Cultural Matters, Cooperation towards fighting crime and enhancing security, as well as issues affecting dependants of diplomatic staff.
“Also on the agenda are Cooperation on Energy, Trade and Investment, Transportation, Public Health and Sports Development.
“The President will also be the Special Guest at an Investment Forum jointly organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Trade, and the Confederation of Employers (CEOE), where he will speak to the gathering of top members of the Spanish business community and their Nigerian counterparts on the investment opportunities in Nigeria and ways of expanding the volume of trade as well as further collaborating for the development of the economies of both countries.”
Those accompanying the president include: The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN); Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo; Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare; and the Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora.
Other members of the delegation are the National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd); Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar; and Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.