Buhari Departs Abuja for 7th Summit on China-Africa Cooperation

President Muhammadu Buhari departed Abuja yesterday afternoon to China to attend the 7th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will hold from September 3 to 4 in Beijing.

The president, who was accompanied by his wife Aisha and a daughter, is expected to interact with the Nigerian community at the Nigerian Embassy, according to an itinerary released on Thursday by the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu.

After the interactive session with the Nigerian community, President Buhari, as the Chair of ECOWAS, would deliver remarks at a High-Level Dialogue, between Chinese and African leaders, business representatives and African entrepreneurs.

He would later join Chinese President Xi Jinping and other African leaders for the opening and roundtable sessions of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, which theme is “Towards an even Stronger China-Africa Community with a shared Future.”

The President would hold bilateral meetings with President Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang to discuss infrastructure financing for strategic projects in Nigeria.

Shehu said the meeting is expected to lead to an upgrade of Nigeria-China relations “from strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership. The President will also use the occasion of his audience with the Chinese leadership to assess the progress made so far in Chinese interventions in Nigeria’s key priority infrastructure projects, particularly ongoing projects in the railway and power sectors.

“It is noteworthy that since the last FOCAC VI Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa in December 2015 – the first attended by the Nigerian leader – and his successful State visit to China in April 2016, the current administration has pushed forward practical cooperation with China in the areas of infrastructure construction, trade, investments, finance, power, agriculture, education cooperation, among others.”