German president to visit Nigeria on bilateral ties
7/11/2008 17:02
German President Horst Kohler is due in Nigeria today for a weeklong visit
that will see him participate in the German-African forum and undertake a state
visit to Nigeria, local media reported.
During the first three days of the
visit, Kohler will meet with Nigerian President Umaru Yar 'Adua and seven other
heads of African governments in Abuja to discuss barriers to partnership and how
to overcome them.
The Africa Forum of the Partnership With Africa was
launched by Germany in 2005 to build a process of honest and open dialogue
between Africa and Germany.
The initiative covers topics in politics,
business, culture and civil society discussed by representatives of the two
parties and their leaders at a round table for confidential talks.
Earlier
fora had taken place in Petersberg, near Bonn, in 2005, Accra in 2007 and
Kloster Eberbach in Germany in 2008.
The Abuja forum is expected to build on
the sense of trust created at the previous meetings.
The German president
will begin a state visit to Nigeria on Monday during which he will sign
bilateral agreements with the Nigerian government, address a joint press
conference with Yar'Adua and visit some states.
He is expected to leave for
Germany on Wednesday.
Xinhua
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