President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Monday, January 26, for a state visit to the Republic of Türkiye aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation, according to a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who said, “The visit is aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations between the two countries and exploring further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation,” noting that the visit follows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official trip to Nigeria in October 2021 and will feature strategic political and diplomatic discussions on shared values in finance, communication, trade and investment, as well as meetings between senior officials of both countries and the signing of memoranda of understanding in areas including scientific research, energy, technical cooperation, media and communications, military cooperation and protocol, while a business forum is also planned to bring together Nigerian and Turkish investors, with members of Tinubu’s entourage including Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar, Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi SAN, Minister of Defence General Christopher Musa (rtd), Chairman of the House Committee on Defence Jimi Benson, Minister of Women Affairs Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Culture and Creative Economy Hannatu Musawa, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency Mohammed Mohammed, and the president is expected to return to Nigeria at the conclusion of the visit.
