President Bola Tinubu welcomed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Wednesday morning.
Steinmeier who landed in Abuja on Tuesday evening met with the President at the Villa’s forecourt at about 11:06 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday.
He is accompanied by a business delegation that includes CEOs and high-ranking board members from some of Germany’s most prominent IT, high-tech, and energy companies.
When the German leader arrived, he was greeted with his country’s and Nigeria’s national anthems, followed by an inspection of the Presidential Brigade of Guards’ Guard of Honour.
According to a statement released on Monday by the German Embassy, Steinmeier will meet with Tinubu and Dr. Alieu Touray, President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States.
He will then go to Lagos to meet with business representatives, tour a start-up cluster, and meet with members of Nigeria’s culture and civil society, including Dr Nike Okundaye and Prof Wole Soyinka.
“There will also be an opportunity to tour the city of Lagos and gain insights into the urban development of a megacity, including environmental and social challenges,” the statement read.
Steinmeier is the second German leader to visit Nigeria in 14 months, and the third European leader to visit the West African country since the Russo-Ukrainian War started in February 2022.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz paid a two-day working visit to the country on October 29, 2023, and met with business executives in Lagos the following day.
Tinubu accepted Scholz’s invitation to attend the G20’s ‘Compact with Africa Economic Conference’ in November last year.
