Buhari arrives US, meets Trump today
President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Washington DC ahead of his bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump and a working lunch today on the invitation of Trump.
The meeting with Trump 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 Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Sunday said that the meeting would 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.
Later in the day, Buhari will meet with a group of business persons in agriculture and agro-processing, dairy and animal husbandry.
Prior to Buhari’s visit, meetings were held on the 26th and 27th April, 2018, between senior Nigerian Government officials and executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation and transportation.
In the area of aviation, the Nigerian officials met with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on the National Carrier Project.
On agriculture, the Nigerian officials met with large equipment manufacturers with focus on harvesting and post harvesting equipment.
In the area of transportation, the officials also met 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 also met with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements.
It is noteworthy that in 2017, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the United States Department of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote and encourage commercial and investment ties between Nigeria and the United States, with initial focus on infrastructure, agriculture, digital economy, investment and regulatory reforms.
