Buhari leaves for United States today

President Muhammadu Buhari will today leave Abuja for Washington DC, United States to honour invitation of US President, Donald Trump.

A statement released by Special Adviser to President on Media and Publicity on Friday stated that President Buhari will have bilateral meeting with President Trump and a working lunch on Monday 30th April 2018.

According to the statement that the two leaders will discuss issues relating to  promoting economic growth, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security.

The meeting will further deepen the US-Nigeria relationship as the United States considers Nigeria’s economic growth, security and leadership in Africa to be critical aspects of their strategic partnership.

Adesina said Buhari on Monday evening will meet with a group of business persons in agriculture and agro-processing, dairy and animal husbandry.

He revealed that some Senior Nigerian Government officials are already in US to discuss with executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation and transportation.

The statement reads in part “In the area of aviation, the Nigerian officials will be meeting with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on the National Carrier Project. On agriculture, they will meet with large equipment manufacturers with focus on harvesting and post harvesting equipment. In the area of transportation, the officials will meet with the GE-led consortium for the implementation of the interim phase of the narrow gauge rail concession.

“In the interim phase, a substantive concession agreement will be negotiated and finalized to provide the consortium the opportunity to invest an estimated $2bn, to modernize the rail line from Lagos to Kano (Western Line) and from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri (Eastern Line). During the meeting, the concession framework and the interim phase framework agreements are expected to be signed”.

The President Spokesman added that Nigerian officials would also meet with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements.