Buhari attends D-8 summit in Istanbul, visits Ankara

By Abdullahi M. Gulloma Abuja–

President Muhammadu Buhari would today depart for Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in the ninth Summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) scheduled to take place on Friday. Prior to the D-8 Summit, President Buhari, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, would participate in an official working visit to Ankara, the capital city, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said in a statement in Abuja.

In Ankara, the President would have a tete-a-tete with his Turkish counterpart while delegations fromboth countries will hold discussions in various fields, including defence cooperation, security, educational and migration issues.

The Nigerian leader would also visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara where he would meet with the Speaker, Ismail Kahraman. While in Istanbul, the Turkish commercial centre, the President would use the occasion of the D-8 Summit to bolster warm and growing ties across a broad range of areas of cooperation with leaders of the D8-member countries, namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.

The Summit with the theme “Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation,” would, among other things, focus on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, trade, transport, energy and increased private sector participation among membercountries.

During the ninth Summit of the D-8, which marks the 20th anniversary of the organisation established to improve the developing countries’positions in the world economy, the President would highlight the significant show of confidence in Nigeria’s business environment and economy.

He would also affirm Nigeria’s resolve to work with D-8 membercountries on many key areas, including peace and security, economy and trade. At the end of the Summit, the Heads of State and Government would adopt a Communiqué, also known as the ‘Istanbul Declaration.’

The President would be accompanied on the trip by ministers and top government officials including the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali.

 

 

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