Buhari to meet with Obama, Cameron, Ban Ki Moon at UN

ABUJA – President Muhammadu Buhari would be amongst the several world leaders who would be in New York, United States of America this weekend for the 70th Session General Assembly meeting of the United Nations.He is due to leave Abuja, Nigeria’s capital for the meeting on Thursday.
He is expected to deliver Nigeria’s Statement to the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.The president would be accompanied by the Governors of Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger States, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Mongonu and the Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Health, Industry, Trade and Investment.

There would also be a series of meetings and interactions with notable world leaders within and on the sidelines of the main events.

President Buhari will also hold talks and interact with the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, President Barack Obama of the United States, President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Vladmir Putin of Russia, President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister Narenda Modi of India and others on domestic developmental issues, bilateral relations, the war against terrorism, countering violent extremism, the enhancement of global security,  peace-keeping operations, climate change and the adoption of a  post 2015 global development agenda.

Besides that, he will also address the World Leaders Summit on Violent Extremism for which he was personally invited by Mr. Ban Ki Moon during the Secretary-General’s recent visit to Nigeria.

The president will also participate in the meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, a High-Level Roundtable on South-South Cooperation organised by President Xi Jinping of China and the United Nations, and launching of an updated global health strategy for women and children in New York.

A statement from the State House, Abuja on Tuesday added that on “President Buhari’s schedule too were meetings with former President Bill Clinton of the United States, Mr. Bill Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is assisting Nigeria in several areas including polio eradication, and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, the United Nations Special Envoy on Global Education who is one of the main drivers of the Safe Schools Initiative.”

It is expected however that the President will round off his visit to New York on Tuesday, September 29 and return to Abuja on the same day.