President Muhammadu Buhari will today depart for China to participate in the 7th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) scheduled to hold September 3 – 4, 2018 in Beijin.
A statement issued on the official twitter handle of the Presidency indicates that the President’s first engagement on arrival in Beijing would be an interactive session with the Nigerian Community in China at the Nigerian Embassy.
Before the formal opening of the FOCAC Summit, President Buhari in his capacity as Chair of ECOWAS, is expected to deliver remarks at the High-Level Dialogue between Chinese and African leaders, business representatives and African entrepreneurs.
President Buhari is scheduled to join President Jinping and other African leaders for the opening and roundtable sessions of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit under the theme: “Towards an even Stronger China-Africa Community with a shared Future.”
After the FOCAC Summit, President Buhari will hold bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang to discuss infrastructure financing for strategic projects in Nigeria and the upgrading of Nigeria-China relations “from strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership.”
He will also use the occasion of his audience with the Chinese leadership to assess the progress made so far in Chinese interventions in Nigeria’s key priority infrastructure projects, particularly on-going projects in the railway and power sectors.
Since the FOCAC VI Summit in Johannesburg, SA in Dec 2015, and President Buhari’s successful State Visit to China in April 2016, the administration has pushed forward practical cooperation with China in areas of infrastructure, trade, investments, finance, power, agriculture, education co-operation among others.
President Buhari has consistently acknowledged Chinese support for infrastructure development in Nigeria. In January 2018 while receiving the Board of Directors of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, he said: “We send our gratitude to the Chinese for all their support to Nigeria. Since independence, no country has helped our country on infrastructural development like the Chinese. In some projects, the Chinese help us with 85 percent payment, and soft loans that span 20 years. No country has done that for us.”
President Buhari will be accompanied to Beijing by his wife, Aisha, who is scheduled to participate in a Spouses’ Programme on China-Africa at the Great Hall of the People, under the theme, “Joining Hands for a Future of AIDS.”
Also on the President’s entourage are Governors Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, Akinwunmi Ambode, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar and Rochas Anayo Okorocha of Bauchi, Lagos, Jigawa and Imo States respectively.
Others are Senators Abdullahi Adamu, George Akume, Godswill Akpabio and Aliyu Wamakko representing Nasarawa, Benue, Akwa Ibom and Sokoto States respectively.
Also accompanying the President are Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Transport, Rotimi Amaechi; Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; FCT, Muhammad Bello; Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah; Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma; Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu; Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu; and Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
Others are the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; the Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Abubakar; and the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Maikanti Baru.
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