Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Muhammadu Buhari departed Abuja Tuesday for Madrid, Spain as head of an 11-man delegation on a state visit to the European country.
The visit to the European nation is at the invitation of the Spanish President, Mr Pedro Sanchez, and will be expected back in the country on Friday, June 3.
According to a release issued by his Media Adviser, Mr Femi Adesina on Tuesday, during the visit, the first by the Nigerian leader, President Buhari meet with the Head of State of the Spanish nation, His Majesty King Felipe VI.
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 toward further enhancing the bilateral relations between the two nations.
Such areas include cooperation on energy, trade and investment, transportation, public health and sports development.
Also on the agenda are 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.
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).
At the event, 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.
On the President’s entourage are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN); Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Adeniyi Adebayo; Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed; and Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola.
It also includes the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare; and the Minister of State for Health, Mr Olorunnimbe Mamora.
Other members of the delegation are the National Security Adviser, Mr Babagana Monguno; Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar; and Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
