President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday morning played host to the visiting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday morning.
Steinmeier arrived in Abuja on Tuesday evening when he met Tinubu at the Forecourt of the Villa at about 11:06 am (local time) on Wednesday.
The German leader is accompanied by a business delegation of CEOs and high-ranking board members of some of Germany’s most successful companies in the fields of IT, high-tech and energy.
Steinmeier was greeted with the national anthems of both Germany and Nigeria, then an inspection of the Guard of Honour mounted by the Presidential Brigade of Guards.
Tinubu led Steinmeier into his office for closed-door talks after a 21-gun salute.
The German Embassy on Monday said Steinmeier will meet with Tinubu as well as with the President of the Commission of Economic Community of West African States, Dr. Alieu Touray.
Steinmeier will then proceed to Lagos to engage with business representatives, visit a start-up hub and meet with members of Nigeria’s cultural sector and civil society, like Dr Nike Okundaye and Prof Wole Soyinka.
“There will also be an opportunity to tour the city of Lagos and gain insights into the urban development of a megacity, including environmental and social challenges,” the statement read.
Steinmeier is the second German leader to visit Nigeria in 14 months and the third European leader to visit the West African state since the Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2022.
German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, visited the country on October 29, 2023, for his two-day working visit where he met business leaders in Lagos a day after.
Tinubu has attended the G20 ‘Compact with Africa Economic Conference’ last year’s November following Scolz’s invitation
Tinubu’s Wednesday’s meeting with the German President is a continuation of over six decades of diplomatic relations between the two countries, sustained by high-level visits dating back to 1978 when then-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt visited Nigeria.
In November 2008, former President Umaru Yar’Adua received German President Horst Koehler in Abuja.
Also, the immediate past Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was the first head of state outside Africa to visit Nigeria after Goodluck Jonathan’s election in 2011.
