President to leave for Turkey on Wednesday to attend D8 summit

President Muhammadu Buhari will travel to Turkey on Wednesday to participate in the ninth Summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) on Friday, October 20, 2017.

According to statement released by the president's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president will also participate in an official working visit to Ankara, the capital city, on the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

According to his statement, "In Ankara, the President will have a tete-a-tete with his Turkish counterpart while delegations from both countries will hold discussions in various fields including defence cooperation, security, educational and migration issues.

"The Nigerian leader will also visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara where he will meet with the Speaker, Ismail Kahraman.

"While in Istanbul, the Turkish commercial centre, President Buhari will use the occasion of the D-8 Summit to bolster warm and growing ties across a broad range of areas of cooperation with leaders of the D8-member countries, namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.

"The Summit with the theme, "Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation’", will among other things, focus on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, trade, transport, energy and increased private sector participation among member-countries.

"During the ninth Summit of the D-8, which will also mark the 20th anniversary of the organisation established to improve the developing countries' positions in the world economy, the President will highlight the significant show of confidence in Nigeria's business environment and economy.

"He will also affirm Nigeria's resolve to work with D-8 member-countries on many key areas, including peace and security, economy and trade.

"At the end of the Summit, the Heads of State and Government will adopt a Communiqué, also known as the 'Istanbul Declaration'."

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Adesina also disclosed that the president will be accompanied by cabinet ministers and top government officials including the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali.

Ali's inclusion in the president's delegation is believed to be in connection with the recent spate of importations of firearms into the country that has originated from the shores of Turkey.

He is expected to meet with relevant security leaders to reach a solution to the troubling development.