President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja on Saturday, April 28, 2018, on an official working visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of President Donald Trump.
Buhari will hold a bilateral meeting with President Trump, and a working lunch, on Monday, April 30, 2018, according to a statement by Femi Adesina, the Presidential spokesman.
“The meeting is to discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries and to advance shared priorities, such as: 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,” it said.
The statement added that later in the day, Buhari would meet with a group of businesspersons in agriculture and agro-processing, dairy and animal husbandry.
It said ahead of the visit by Buhari, meetings had been scheduled on April 26, 2018, and April 27, 2018, between senior Nigerian Government officials and executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation, and transportation.
“In aviation, the Nigerian officials will be meeting with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on the National Carrier Project. In agriculture, they will meet with large equipment manufacturers with a focus on harvesting and post-harvesting equipment.
“In transportation, the officials will meet with the General Electric-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 $2 billion, to modernize the rail line from Lagos to Kano (Western Line) and from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri (Eastern Line),” it said.
According to the statement, during the meeting, the concession framework and the interim phase framework agreements were expected to be signed, adding that the Nigerian officials would also meet with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements.
