British PM to visit Nigeria, meet Buhari this week

British Prime Minister, Theresa May, will visit Nigeria this week and meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on her first visit to Africa.

According to a statement by the government of the United Kingdom, she'll be the first British Prime Minister to visit Sub-Saharan Africa since 2013. She'll also visit Kenya and South Africa.

She will meet President Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday, August 29, and also spend some time in Lagos where she is expected to visit victims of modern slavery.

May's central message during her visit will be focused on a renewed partnership between the UK and Africa, which will seek to maximise shared opportunities and tackle common challenges in a continent that is growing at a rapid pace - from the Sahara to South Africa, according to the statement.

She will also use the visit to announce further support to tackle instability across the region. Nigeria has been dealing with the insurgency of terrorist group, Boko Haram, for nine years.

May looking forward to African trip

Ahead of her visit, she noted that Africa will play a transformative role in the global economy, making it important to the world to ensure a "more prosperous, growing and trading Africa".

She said, "Africa stands right on the cusp of playing a transformative role in the global economy, and as longstanding partners this trip is a unique opportunity at a unique time for the UK to set out our ambition to work even closer together.

"A more prosperous, growing and trading Africa is in all of our interests and its incredible potential will only be realised through a concerted partnership between governments, global institutions and business.

"As we prepare to leave the European Union, now is the time for the UK to deepen and strengthen its global partnerships. This week I am looking forward to discussing how we can do that alongside Africa to help deliver important investment and jobs as well as continue to work together to maintain stability and security.

"I am proud to be leading this ambitious trip to Africa and to become the first UK Prime Minister in over 30 years to visit Kenya."

The Prime Minister will be joined by a business delegation made up of 29 representatives from UK business - half of which are SMEs - from across all regions of the UK and its devolved administrations.

Delegates include the London Stock Exchange, Cardiff-based cooling technology firm, Sure Chill, solar tech provider, Northumbria Energy from North Tyneside, London-based start-up, Farm.ink, who have created a knowledge-sharing mobile platform for farmers, Northern Irish agri-tech leader, Devenish Nutrition, and the world-renowned Scotch Whisky Association and Midlands manufacturing giant JCB.

Also travelling are Trade Minister, George Hollingbery, and Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin. Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, will join the visit in South Africa to support the Welsh companies in the business delegation, while the Lord Mayor of London, Charles Bowman, is also accompanying the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister will begin her trip in Cape Town in South Africa and end it in Nairobi, Kenya.