Terrorism on agenda as Buhari attends India-Africa summit

President Muhammadu Buhari will tomorrow leave Abuja for New Delhi, India to participate in the third summit of the IndiaAfrica Forum on climate change and international terrorism.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in a statement yesterday, said the summit would open on Thursday.

The Forum was established in 2008 as the official platform for the advancement of mutually-beneficial relations between India and African nations. The last summit of the Forum was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2011.

Adesina said Buhari, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and other participating Heads of State and Government at this year’s summit, would deliberate on issues currently of common concern to their countries such as climate change and international terrorism.

He said they were also expected to discuss additional measures aimed boosting

at joint collaboration to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development in Africa and India as well as further cooperation for the alleviation of poverty, and the eradication of hunger, disease and illiteracy.

According to Adesina, President Buhari is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Modi and other senior Indian government officials on Wednesday ahead of the opening of the summit.

The presidential spokesman said Buhari would also meet with chief executive officers of Indian companies with existing or prospective interests in Nigeria before returning to Abuja on Friday.

He said Buhari would be accompanied to New Delhi by the governors of Kano and Delta states, National Security Adviser, retied Major-General Babagana Monguno as well as the permanent secretaries in the ministries of Defence, Power, Communications Technology, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and Industry, Trade and Investment.