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President Muhammadu Buhari has departed Abuja for Madrid, Spain on a state visit.
The president’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, in a statement, yesterday, said the visit is on the invitation of the Spanish President, Pedro Sanchez.
Buhari would also meet with the Head of State of the Spanish nation, His Majesty King Felipe VI during the visit.
“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,” he said.
The presidential would also be the special guest at an investment forum jointly organised by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Trade, and the Confederation of Employers (CEOE).
He would also be speaking 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.
Buhari would be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo; Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare and Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora.
National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno (retd); Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufa’i; and Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa are also on the President’s entourage
The president is expected back on Friday.
Nigeria and Spain established relations over the last 25 years. The volume of trade between Nigeria and Spain stood at seven billion euro in 2012, according to the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Alvaro Aguilar.
