President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has returned to Abuja after a state visit to the Republic of Türkiye.
The President arrived in Abuja on Saturday night at about 8:55 p.m. Nigerian time, after departing Nigeria on January 26 with ministers and other government officials.
During the visit, President Tinubu secured a commitment from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to increase bilateral trade volume between both countries to $5 billion. He said discussions to actualise the target had already begun.
President Erdoğan made the pledge during a joint press briefing with President Tinubu as part of the Nigerian leader’s state visit.
At present, trade volume between Nigeria and Türkiye stands at about $2 billion. Türkiye exports planes, helicopters, machinery, iron and steel, and chemical products to Nigeria, while Nigeria exports crude oil and agricultural products to Türkiye.
President Erdoğan said the establishment of a Joint Economy and Trade Committee would create opportunities to expand Turkish investments in Nigeria and help achieve the $5 billion trade target.
At the conclusion of the bilateral engagements, President Tinubu and his delegation signed nine agreements covering Diaspora Policy; Defence Cooperation; a Joint Declaration Establishing the Economy and Trade Joint Committee; and Halal Quality Infrastructure.
Other agreements include cooperation in Higher Education; Media and Communication; Education; cooperation between the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy Academy and Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs Academy; as well as cooperation between Türkiye’s Ministry of Social Services and Nigeria’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
