By Sanusi Abdullahi Oyelekan
President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Spain on a state visit at the invitation of the country’s President, Pedro Sanchez, the first by the Nigerian leader.
Pictures released by the Presidency suggested that the President and his entourage arrived in Madrid, the Spanish capital city on Tuesday evening.
His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had hinted in a statement that President Buhari would hold separates with President Sanchez and the Head of State of the Spanish nation, King Felipe VI, during the visit.
During his engagements with both leaders, he is expected to discuss issues of mutual interest to Nigeria and Spain which would 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, Adesina stated, 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.
According to his spokesman, President Buhari will 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) where he will speak 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.
Ministers who accompanied him on the trip include Geoffrey Onyeama (Foreign Affairs), Abubakar Malami (Justice), Adeniyi Adebayo (Industry, Trade, and Investment), Lai Mohammed (Information and Culture), Rauf Aregbesola (Interior), Sunday Dare (Youth and Sports Development), and Olorunnimbe Mamora (Health – State).
Other members of the delegation are the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, and Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
