President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday night returned to Abuja after a state visit to the Republic of Türkiye.
Tinubu landed in Abuja at about 8:55 p.m. Nigerian time.
The President had departed Nigeria on January 26 in company with ministers and other government officials.
During his visit to Türkiye, he secured a commitment from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to increase his country’s trade volume with Nigeria to $5 billion. He said discussions to actualise this target had already commenced.
President Erdoğan made the statement during a joint press briefing with President Tinubu as part of the Nigerian leader’s state visit.
Currently, the trade volume between the two countries stands at about $2 billion. Türkiye currently exports planes, helicopters, machinery, iron and steel, and chemical products to Nigeria, while Nigeria exports crude oil and agricultural products to Türkiye.
Erdoğan said the establishment of the Joint Economy and Trade Committee between the two countries would create opportunities to expand Turkish investments in Nigeria in order to achieve the target.
At the end of the bilateral meeting, Tinubu and his entourage also signed nine agreements covering Diaspora Policy; Defence Cooperation; Joint Declaration Establishing the Economy and Trade Joint Committee; and Halal Quality Infrastructure.
Others include Cooperation in Higher Education; Media and Communication; Education; Cooperation between the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy Academy, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs Academy; and Cooperation between the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Social Services and the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
