Pakistani president to pay official visit to Nigeria

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain will pay an official visit to Nigeria from April 21-24 at the invitation of his Nigerian counterpart Goodluck Jonathan to strengthen bilateral relations with special focus on trade, officials said Thursday.

This would be the first presidential visit from Pakistan to Nigeria in last three decades.

During his stay in Abuja, Hussain would meet the president of Nigeria and the vice president of Nigeria and senior Nigerian officials would also call on the Pakistani president, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Pakistani president would also address the Business Forums in Abuja and in Lagos.

The trade relations between Pakistan and Nigeria have improved considerably. The total volume of trade between the two countries almost doubled recently from earlier 30.677 millions U.S. dollars in 2011-2012 to 67.361 million dollars in 2012-2013. "The visit will provide a good opportunity to exchange views on bilateral, regional and international matters of mutual interest," a statement said.

The two sides would discuss ways and means for further strengthening of relations between the two countries particularly in the field of economic and trade cooperation.

The president's visit to Nigeria will give a new impetus to the trade relations between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry said, adding Nigeria is an important member of D-8, OIC and the UN where the two countries closely collaborate.

The visit comes days after Nigeria and Pakistan held Joint Commission meeting in Abuja aimed at improving economic and trade relations between the two countries.

The two sides discussed cooperation in petroleum resources, health, defense, higher education and technical training. Endi