President Bola Tinubu and the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, have returned to Abuja from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they have been attending the 19th G20 Leaders Summit.
The Airbus A330 conveying the first couple arrived at the Presidential Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 10.20 p.m. (Nigerian time).
This concludes his 31st foreign trip since assuming office 18 months ago.
The meeting brought together leaders from the world’s top 20 economies, including the European Union, the African Union, and multilateral financial institutions, among others.
It comprises 19-member countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the UK, and the US, along with the European Union.
During the summit, held from Monday, November 18, to Tuesday, November 19, 2024, Tinubu engaged in bilateral discussions to advance Nigeria’s socio-economic reforms. He also joined world leaders to endorse the global alliance against hunger and poverty.
The President held bilateral talks with Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, who commended his administration’s economic reforms and their indicators.
He also presided over the signing of a $2.5bn Letter of Intent between the Nigerian government and JBS S.A., a Brazilian company and one of the top three largest meat processing companies globally.
The G20 summit, hosted by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, focused on the theme, “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet.”” Discussions addressed sustainable development in economic, social, and environmental dimensions, global governance reforms, climate change, and the digital economy.
The Nigerian leader’s participation is at the instance of the Brazilian President.
Tinubu was accompanied by top government officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; Ministers of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha; Minster of Art, Tourism, Culture and Creativity, Hannatu Musawa; Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Aliyu Abdullahi; and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed.
So far, he has logged 131 days abroad, visiting 17 countries and accumulated about 278 flight hours.
He has visited Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; London, the United Kingdom (four times); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Norvo, Benin Republic; The Hague, Netherlands; Pretoria, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; New York, the United States of America; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal and Doha, Qatar.