Turkish President and reigning Muslim News Global Personality of the Year, Recep Tayyip Erdogan will embark on a 2-day official visit to Nigeria between Tuesday, October 19 and Wednesday, October 12, 2021.
Muslim News findings revealed that the official visit is part of President Erdogan’s diplomatic tour of three Africa countries, including Angola and Togo.
Erdogan, considered as the emerging leader of the Muslim world will kick off his visit in Lourenço, Angola on Sunday, October 17 and then proceed to Togo on Mondau, October 18 where he will be meeting Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbe, to discuss bilateral.
The three-time winner of the Global Muslim Personality of the Year (2018, 2019 and 2020) will then travel to Nigeria, on Tuesday, October 19, where his counterpart and friend, President Muhammadu Buhari will be hosting him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Confirming the news of Erdogan’s meeting with Buhari as part of his visit to three African countries, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said on Friday that the two leaders will sign three agreements in the hydrocarbon, mining and energy sectors.
According to Dönmez, “We reviewed the existing commercial and economic relations, and future investment opportunities, and exchanged views on the development of bilateral trade and the improvement of the investment environment,” the minister said after the fifth term of the Turkey-Nigeria Joint Economic Commission Meeting.
Dönmez said that officials from the two countries discussed cooperation opportunities in the fields of energy and mining as well as industry, technology, agriculture, transportation, health, education, culture, tourism and sports.
“We identified the areas of work to be carried out for cooperation in the upcoming period, exchanged ideas on what we can do about them, and started preparations,” he added.
Trade volume between Turkey and Nigeria reached $2 billion (TL 17.80 billion) at the end of 2020.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer is among Turkey’s oil and gas suppliers. “Nigeria continues to be the country’s largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa,” Dönmez said.
The oil companies of the two countries will evaluate their investments and cooperation options for future projects together, Dönmez added.
Global Muslim Personality Awards
It would be recalled that President Erdogan was the winner of the Global Muslim Personality of the Year for 2018, 2019, and 2020, an award initiated by Muslim News, Nigeria’s most authoritative Islamic Newspaper, to celebrate Muslim Achievers who have made the Ummah proud.
When the Awards debuted in 2018, Erdogan was nominated by jurists, going by the influence and power he wields – both within the Muslim world and in the international community.
In 2020, the management of Muslim News Nigeria also conferred the Turkish President with this noble award for the second time in the 2019 edition due to his enduring commitment to the emancipation of oppressed Muslims in Palestine, Myanmar, Kashmir, Syria and other countries of the world.
President Erdogan again emerged overall winner in the 2020 edition of the award for the third straight year, for strengthening Turkey’s national capabilities and its economy, promoting humanitarian causes, and leading the defense of the rights of Muslims globally.
Although, unavoidably absent, he was among the celebrated Muslim leaders at the during the Muslim News 3rd Anniversary lecture, and #MNAwards held in Lagos, Southwest, Nigeria, in September 18, 2021.
Muslim News can authoritatively confirm that President Erdogan has a large number of supporters among Nigerian Muslims for his unique leadership styles from inception.
