President Francois Hollande of France and his Camerounian counterpart, Paul Biya, are among dignitaries that will participate
In the second Regional Security Summit in Abuja on Saturday, May 14th.
Also expected at the one-day summit are the Presidents of Niger Republic, Chad and Benin.
Hollande who hosted the first Regional Security Summit in Paris on May 17, 2014 would be arriving Nigeria on Friday for an official visit, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s hosting of the summit, the statement said, “is in furtherance of ongoing efforts by his administration to enhance the security of lives, properties and investments in Nigeria and the neighbouring countries,”
The United States, Britain, Equatorial Guinea, the European Union, ECOWAS, the Economic Community of Central African States and the Gulf of Guinea Commission will also be represented at the summit, which will have the successful conclusion of ongoing military operations against Boko Haram at the top of its agenda, the statement added.
It also noted that the speedy resolution of the humanitarian crises caused by the barbaric atrocities of the terrorist group would also feature prominently on the summit’s agenda.
Before proceeding to the summit, President Buhari will receive President Hollande and the French delegation at the Presidential Villa on Saturday morning, it added.
“It is expected that new agreements on further defence and cultural cooperation between Nigeria and France will be concluded and signed after talks between the two Presidents and their officials,” Adesina said in the statement.