ABUJA: Vice President Hamid Ansari today arrived in this Nigerian capital on the first leg of his five-day, two-nation tour which will also take him to the another West African country Mali.
He was received at the Abuja International Airport by his Nigerian counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.
The vice president is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim besides senior officials. Ansari said his visits are part of government's "very focused approach" to all regions of Africa. His visit to Nigeria comes at the invitation of Osinbajo.
In Abuja, he will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Osinbajo, address a business meeting organised by the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and deliver an address at the National Defence College of Nigeria.
He will also inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex and interact with members of the Indian community. He will then travel to the Nigerian city of Lagos where he will meet its Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, address the Indian community there and deliver a speech at the University of Lagos.
In Nigeria, an agreement on Bureau of Standards will be signed. On the second leg of his trip, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India. He will return home on October 1.