Fatimah Otunsanya
President Bola Tinubu will on Thursday embark on a two-nation trip to Japan and Brazil, with a brief stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, noting that the President’s first stop will be Japan for the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama from August 20 to 22.
With the theme “Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa”, TICAD9 will focus on driving Africa’s economic transformation, improving business environments and institutions through private investment and innovation, and promoting a resilient, sustainable African society anchored on human security, peace, and stability.
Beyond the plenary sessions, Tinubu will hold bilateral meetings and engage with the chief executives of Japanese companies investing in Nigeria.
Initiated in 1993 by the Japanese government and co-hosted by the UN, UNDP, African Union Commission, and the World Bank, TICAD is held every three years, alternating between Japan and Africa.
The last edition took place in Tunisia in August 2022.
After the Japan engagement, Tinubu will proceed to Brasília for a two-day state visit from Sunday, August 24, to Monday, August 25, at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
While in Brazil, he will hold bilateral talks with his host, attend a business forum with Brazilian investors, and lead a delegation of key ministers and senior officials to explore new avenues of cooperation, including signing agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Brazilian government.
