President Bola Tinubu is set to travel to Guinea-Bissau on Saturday to participate in the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The summit is scheduled to take place in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, on Sunday. This information was disclosed by Dele Alake, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, in a statement released on Friday.
Accompanied by members of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council and other high-ranking government officials, President Tinubu will represent Nigeria at the summit. He is expected to return to the country after the conclusion of the meeting.
PBAT will attend his first Ecowas Summit as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Guinea-Bissau on Sunday. He will depart Abuja for Bissau tommorow. He is expected back in Abuja on Monday pic.twitter.com/kN0QiErnxt
— Daddy D.O?? (@DOlusegun) July 7, 2023The session will address several important sub-regional issues, including the security challenges faced by member countries as highlighted in the report of the 50th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC). The financial situation of ECOWAS and the progress made in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will also be discussed. Additionally, the status of political transitions in the Republics of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea will be presented.
Other items on the agenda include discussions on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme and the obstacles to the free movement of goods along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor.
This will be President Tinubu’s second official international engagement since assuming office as Nigeria’s 16th President on May 29. His previous trip took him to Paris, France, where he participated in the New Global Financial Pact organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. During the event, global leaders gathered to review and sign a pact aimed at prioritizing support and investment in vulnerable countries affected by climate change, the energy crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
While in Paris, President Tinubu also engaged in an interactive session with the Nigerian community residing in France. Following the two-day summit, he made a short private visit to London, United Kingdom, before returning to Nigeria on June 27.
