President Bola Tinubu arrived in Japan to participate in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), scheduled for August 20-22 in Yokohama City.
The President’s aircraft touched down at Haneda International Airport, Tokyo, at 00:50 am on Tuesday, which was still Monday in Nigeria due to the eight-hour time difference.
Ambassador Hideo Matsubara, the TICAD Ambassador responsible for Haneda Airport, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and officials of the Nigerian Embassy received President Tinubu upon his arrival.
President Tinubu had departed Abuja on Friday, August 15, accompanied by senior government officials, including ministers and special advisers, with a brief stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before heading to Japan.
Bayo Onanuga, the spokesman for the President, has said that “In Japan, President Tinubu will attend plenary sessions on themes linked to the conference, hold bilateral meetings, and meet the chief executive officers of some Japanese companies with investments in Nigeria”.
TICAD9, themed “Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa”, will focus on Africa’s economic transformation, improvements in the business environment and institutions through private investment and innovation, and the promotion of a resilient and sustainable African society for human security, peace, and stability.
The triennial conference, initiated by the Japanese government, is co-hosted by the United Nations, UNDP, the African Union Commission, and the World Bank, and alternates between Japan and Africa.
Tunisia hosted the last edition in 2022. President Tinubu will visit Brasilia, Brazil, from August 24 to August 25, following the TICAD9 summit, at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In Brazil, he will have a bilateral meeting with his host and attend a business forum with Brazilian investors.
