Mr. Adesina said that the official visit will “strengthen and intensify bilateral and international cooperation against terrorism in Nigeria and West-Africa.” According to the statement President Buhari will meet with the United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, and the Secretary of Defense, Robert Work.
According to a press release by his spokesman Femi Adesina, President Buhari’s upcoming trip to Washington, DC, will address important security, economic, and counterterrorism issues in Nigeria.
These are the first public details of President Buhari’s trip to the United States, which includes meetings between the Nigerian delegation and top US officials.
Mr. Adesina said that the official visit will “strengthen and intensify bilateral and international cooperation against terrorism in Nigeria and West-Africa.” According to the statement President Buhari will meet with the United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, and the Secretary of Defense, Robert Work.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and the US Congressional Committees on Foreign Relations will also receive President Buhari to discuss political ties between the United States and Nigeria.
The Congressional Black Caucus in the US House of Representatives will meet with members of Nigeria’s delegation as well.
President Buhari is also expected to make public addresses at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC and at the Corporate Council on Africa to discuss international investment and Nigeria’s economy. President Buhari will also have a reunion with graduates of the American War College Class of 1980, according to the statement.
Accompanying President Buhari is an 18-man delegation including Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. In addition to this delegation are governors including the Governors of Imo, Nasarawa, Edo, Borno and Oyo States.
President Buhari is due back in Abuja on Thursday, July 23.
Read full statement below:
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
SECURITY, WAR AGAINST TERRORISM, TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS TOP AGENDA OF PRESIDENT BUHARI'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON DC
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Sunday to Washington DC on a four-day official visit during which he will hold high-level talks with President Barack Obama and other senior officials of the United States government.
Topmost on the agenda of President Buhari's talks with President Obama and United States Government officials will be measures to strengthen and intensify bilateral and international cooperation against terrorism in Nigeria and West-Africa.
President Buhari who will meet with President Obama at the White House on Monday, July 20, will later hold further discussions with the Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey and the Deputy Secretary of Defence, Robert Work on military and defence cooperation.
The President will also meet with Vice President Joe Biden and confer with the US Attorney-General, Loretta Lynch, the US Secretary of Treasury, Jack Lew, the US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker and the US Trade representative, Michael Froman on United States support for his administration's war against corruption as well as fresh measures to boost Nigeria-United States trade relations.
The President, who will be received by the United States Secretary of State at the State Department in Washington DC, will later hold meetings with the United States Senate and Congressional Committees on Foreign Relations, as well as the Black Caucus of the United States House of Representatives.
Before leaving Washington DC, President Buhari will address the United States Chamber of Commerce and Corporate Council for Africa.
The President, who will be accompanied by the Governors of Imo, Nasarawa, Edo, Borno and Oyo States as well as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade and Investment, will also host an interactive session with Nigerians in the American Diaspora.
The US trip will also afford President Buhari the opportunity of a reunion with members of the American War College Class of 1980 in which he was a distinguished participant.
He is due back in Abuja on Thursday, July 23.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
July 15, 2015