Buhari heading to France for African finance summit

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Sunday depart Abuja for France where he will attend the African finance summit.

During the four-day trip, Buhari will also meet with Emmanuel Macron, president of France.

The summit is organised by Macron to discuss external funding and debt treatment for Africa, as well as private sector reforms.

Buhari and Macron are expected to discuss the growing security threats in the Sahel and Lake Chad region, climate change, economic ties, political relations, partnership to improve Nigeria’s health sector and contain the spread of COVID-19.

In a statement on Saturday, the presidency said the summit will also be “focused on reviewing African economy, following shocks from coronavirus pandemic and getting relief, especially from increased debt burden on countries”.

“Before returning to Nigeria, President Buhari will receive some key players in the oil and gas sector, engineering and telecommunications, European Council and European Union Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Commission, and members of the Nigerian community,” the statement added.

Major stakeholders in the global financial institutions and some heads of government are expected to attend the summit.

Those expected to be in the entourage of the president are Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs; Zainab Ahmed, minister of budget and national planning; Niyi Adebayo, minister of trade and investment; and Osagie Ehanire, minister of health.

Babagana Monguno, national security adviser, and Ahmed Abubakar, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) are also expected to be part of the trip.