Jonathan in Malabo for AU meeting

By DANIEL IDONOR
ABUJA—President Goodluck Jonathan will today leave for Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to attend the 17th Ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government of African Union, AU, holding between June 30 and July 1.

African leaders will at this year’s AU summit deliberate on the theme, “Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development,” with the aim of providing better environment and skills for African youths to excel, and contribute meaningfully to peace and security, socio-economic growth and sustainable development on the continent.

It is expected that during the summit, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government would ratify and adopt the decisions and recommendations of AU Executive Council of Ministers as well as Declarations of the Summit.

President Jonathan, on arrival in Malabo, will participate at the NEPAD Heads of State and Government meeting as well as the African Peer Review Forum.

He will also meet same day with the Nigerian community in Malabo.

Nigerian Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Gregory Okon, said members of the Nigerian Community in Malabo were anxious to receive President Jonathan as the first democratically elected Nigerian president to visit Equatorial Guinea.

According to him, about 4,000 Nigerians, made up of mostly businessmen, reside in Equatorial Guinea, which is the only Spanish speaking country in Africa, with a population of about 676,000 people.

Okon said Equatorial Guinea was attracted to Nigeria’s banking, agriculture, oil and gas, solid minerals, and tourism sectors, as the potentials of these sectors are yet to be fully exploited in that country.

Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, both rich in oil and gas, are members of the Gulf of Guinea Commission.
Despite a bilateral air agreement signed by the two countries in March last year, the aviation sectors of both countries have not exploited the advantage of the BASA agreement as direct flights are yet to commence.