I was very pleased to welcome His Excellency the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, the First Lady, Emine Erdogan, to Abuja.
This was the second visit of President Erdogan to Nigeria since I came to office; the second time I’ve had the pleasure of receiving my brother in Abuja.
His visit is yet again a reflection of the robust, warm and cordial bilateral relations between Nigeria and Turkey.
During the visit, we held very useful discussions on a number of bilateral issues, aimed at strengthening this very cordial relationship. The key issues we touched on included a series of Bilateral Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding that had been finalised.
As a positive outcome, eight major Agreements/MoUs on a number of the key sectors including Energy, Defense Industry, Mining and HydroCarbons, among others, were signed. We have agreed that implementation is to commence immediately.
We also in the course of our discussions reviewed the travel ban list based on the revised COVID-19 protocols and removed Turkey from Nigeria’s Travel Ban List. Turkey has indeed achieved remarkable success in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
I also commended His Excellency for his leadership and generosity in receiving and accommodating 4 million refugees fleeing from conflict areas particularly in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. He has indeed set an example to the rest of the world.
I am equally grateful to President and First Lady Erdogan for commissioning the Turkish Cultural Centre in Abuja, as well as opening the newly renovated Government Secondary School in Wuse, Abuja, undertaken by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIIKA).
There is so much to look forward to in the relationship between our two countries, and we will continue to work together for our mutual benefit.
