After his official visit to China and a brief stopover in the United Kingdom, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to return to Abuja today (Sunday).
The details of President Tinubu’s trip were shared on X by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President. Tinubu departed Abuja on August 29th, heading to Beijing, China, with a stopover in Dubai, UAE, before arriving in Beijing on September 1.
During his time in China, President Tinubu met with President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, where he was honored with a 21-gun salute and a review of the guards. The two nations signed five memorandums of understanding, including agreements on advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, peaceful nuclear energy cooperation, and human resource development under the Global Development Initiative.
Other agreements included collaborations between China Media Group and Nigeria’s Television Authority, as well as media exchange and cooperation. Additionally, Nigeria and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) signed an MOU for the construction of the 68-kilometer Lagos Green rail line, and a $1 billion agreement for a steel plant in Kogi State was finalized with Sinomach-He and Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited.
President Tinubu also visited Huawei and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) before attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) opening ceremony. At the FOCAC, Tinubu, in his role as ECOWAS chairman, spoke on global peace and the importance of collaboration and multilateralism.
Before concluding his trip, President Tinubu met with members of the Nigerian Diaspora Organization in China to discuss reforms aimed at improving infrastructure, power, and education in Nigeria. Following his departure from Beijing, President Tinubu spent a few days in London, where he met with King Charles III to discuss climate change and action plans.