TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Friday for Paris, France, to participate in the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum which opens on Sunday and ends on Tuesday.

Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

The forum is organised by the French government and a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It is based on the “simple idea that international cooperation is key to tackling global challenges and ensuring durable peace”.

Adesina said Buhari will join the United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, and other world leaders in discussing contributions towards global peace while underscoring the imperative of collective action.

While in Paris, the president will also join other world leaders to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the Armistice signed on November 11, 1918, between the Allied Forces and Germany in the forest of Compiegne in France to end the First World War.

During his visit to Paris, the presidential aide said, Buhari would attend a luncheon hosted by President Emmanuel Macron of France in honour of visiting heads of delegations.

“Before returning to Abuja, the President and his delegation will have an interactive session with the Nigerian community in France,” Adesina said.

President Buhari will be accompanied to Paris by governors Aminu Masari, Willie Obiano and Kayode Fayemi of Katsina, Anambra and Ekiti states, respectively, among others.

The Paris Peace Forum will be centred on five themes: peace and security, the environment, development, digital and new technologies and the inclusive economy.