*Buhari embarks on ninth foreign trip in 2022*
Owoeye Joshua
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, embarked on his ninth trip outside the country.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the latest sojourn is for the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled from June 20 to 26, 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda.
Adesina added that President Buhari will join other leaders to participate in discussions focused on the progress and prosperity of the more than two billion people living in the 54 independent countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific that make up the Commonwealth.
With the theme ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming,’ the presidential aide revealed that the Heads of Government are expected to reaffirm their commitment to upholding the Commonwealth Charter, which focuses on democracy, human rights, the rule of law, as well as economic opportunities and sustainable development.
He further stated that the leaders would consider a range of topical issues including post-COVID-19 economic recovery, debt sustainability, climate change, poverty reduction, youth entrepreneurship and employment, trade and food security.
This means that the president is just a trip away from reaching 10 foreign travels this year alone.
With six months to go, President Buhari has flown abroad at least twice in three months.
Recall that the president had in June visited the Head of State of the Spanish nation, King Felipe VI where he discussed issues of mutual interest which resulted in the signing of agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding.
He had in May visited the United Arabs Emirate where he paid a condolence visit to the country over the loss of its immediate past leader, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nayan; Equatorial Guinea, where he attended the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union; and the Ivory Coast, where he attended the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
Buhari also visited Brussels, Belgium in February when he joined other world leaders for the 6th European Union-African Union Summit; Nairobi Kenya in March, where he attended the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Environmental Programme; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February for the 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Africa Union Heads of State and Government; and London, the United Kingdom in March, for a two-week medical check-up.
