Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Bola Tinubu on 29 October in Abuja during the German leader's visit to Nigeria/Photo: State House Nigeria

Nigeria’s President Tinubu visits Germany

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria is scheduled to arrive Berlin on Saturday for a three-day official visit to Germany.

Among other activities, he will attend the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) Conference, hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on Monday (20 November).

“During the conference, President Tinubu will join other Heads of State and Government of CwA member countries, bilateral partners, as well as Heads of International Organizations to deliberate on the immediate enhancement of economic and business cooperation with a view to outlining concrete measures to boost investments in critical areas such as energy, trade, infrastructure, and new technologies, among others,” Nigerian presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement.

The G20 CwA Conference will be taking place alongside the Fourth G20 Investment Summit, co-hosted by the German government and German business associations.

“In view of President Bola Tinubu’s globally recognized drive for foreign direct investment in Nigeria, the President will sustain the momentum and advance the mission further as he leads Nigeria’s delegation to participate in the investment summit,” Ngelale said.

“In his discussions with Chancellor Scholz in October, President Tinubu highlighted the imminent need for more German companies to invest in the Nigerian market across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy, such as transportation, mining, and energy, all while noting that Nigeria remains Germany’s second largest trading partner in Africa.”

On Tuesday, the Nigerian leader will take part in the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum in Berlin at which concrete declarations of intent between partners from both countries are expected to be signed, according to the organisers, Afrika-Verein der Deutschen Wirtschaft.

Tinubu’s visit, in response to the invitation of Chancellor Scholz, who was in Nigeria in October, is expected bolster trade ties between both countries, which recorded an increase in bilateral trade volume from two to three billion euros between 2021 and 2022.

President Tinubu will be accompanied on the visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar; the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite; and the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu.

President Tinubu will hold one-on-one direct talks with a number of German political leaders and investors and heads of international organisations before returning to Nigeria, according to diplomatic sources.

Sola Jolaoso

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