President meets Turkey's Erdogan in Ankara

President Muhammadu Buhari paid a courtesy visit to Turkish president,

The president was welcomed with a 21-gun salute as he inspected a Guard of Honour with his host, Erdogan.

According to President Buhari's Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, the two leaders later sat down to discuss defence and security cooperation, migration issues, among others.

Before his meeting with President Erdogan, President Buhari laid a wreath at the mausoleum of Turkey's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the company of Nigeria's Ambassador to Turkey, Iliyasu Paragalda, and other senior government officials.

He also signed the official Anitkabir memorial Book of Honour at the Misaki-i Milli Kulesi (National Pact Tower), within the precincts of the mausoleum, and toured the museum.

The president had left for Turkey after presiding over Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.

His official working visit to Ankara on the invitation of President Erdogan is part of his participation in the ninth Summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) that'll be held on Friday, October 20.

The president was accompanied by cabinet ministers and top government officials including the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali.

According to Bashir, Ali's presence on the delegation is part of efforts to halt the worrying rise in the illegal importation of firearms into Nigeria from the European country.

The cabinet members in his delegation include the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah; and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.