Buhari gets an invite from Trump for a Bilateral meeting

President Muhammadu Buhari will today, Saturday, April 28th 2018, leave Abuja on an official working visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of President Donald Trump.

Mr. Femi Adesina, the President Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, made this known through a statement he released on Friday.

The President will thereafter hold a bilateral meeting with Trump and a working lunch on Monday.

“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,” the statement read.

The statement added, “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 Nigerian officials will also meet with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements.”