D-8 Summit: Buhari Departs For Istanbul Wednesday

The Presidency has announced President Muhammadu Buhari’s departure on Wednesday for Istanbul, Turkey, to partake in the ninth Summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) scheduled for Friday.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement on Tuesday, said President Buhari will during the trip pay a working visit to Turkey’s capital of Ankara on the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Adesina said at this year’s D-8 summit themed ‘‘Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation,’’ Heads of State and Government will adopt the ‘Istanbul Declaration’.

“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,” said the presidential aide.

He also revealed that President Buhari will meet with Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey, Ismail Kahraman, during the visit.

“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.

“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.

President Buhari will be accompanied by “ministers, top government officials, including the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali,” Adesina said.