TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja for Paris on Monday to begin a three-day official visit to France at the invitation of President Francois Hollande, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, said on Sunday.

According to him, Buhari will be accompanied on the visit by the national security adviser, Babagana Monguno, the permanent secretaries in the federal ministries of defence, finance, agriculture, foreign affairs, industry, trade and investment as well as the chief executives of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.

“As the composition of his entourage indicates, President Buhari’s talks in Paris with President Hollande and other senior French government officials will focus on the further strengthening and consolidation of ongoing bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and France in the areas of defence, security, trade and investments,” Adesina said.

“Apart from his scheduled meeting with President Hollande at the Elysee Palace on Monday evening, President Buhari and his team will also confer with the French Minister of Defence, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts, Mr. Michel Sapin, the French Minister of Economy and Industry, Mr. Emmanuel Macron and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Mr. Laurent Fabius.

“The president will visit the Headquarters of MEDEF, France’s largest federation of investors and employers, where he will participate in a France/Nigeria Investment Forum with leading Nigerian and French entrepreneurs.

“President Buhari will also confer with the Chief Executive Officers of leading French multinational companies such as Total and Lafarge on their current and future investments in Nigeria.

“The president’s other scheduled engagements in Paris include a meeting with African ambassadors to France and an interactive session with members of the Nigerian community.

“He will conclude his visit to France on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 and return to Abuja the same day.”

Although security, trade and investments are also items for the bilateral talks, security is expected to be the most dominant, in view of France’s series of interactions with West African countries affected by Nigeria’s insurgency challenge.

After initially struggling with containing bomb attacks by Bokpo Haram, Buhari’s government seems to finally be subduing the insurgents in recent weeks, although there was a daredevil bomb blast at the Malkohi Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Adamawa state on Friday.