French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to embark on a two-day state visit to Nigeria on October 28 and 29, as Abuja and Paris move to deepen their strategic partnership.
Presidency sources said the proposed visit, which remains subject to possible changes, will provide an opportunity for Macron and President Bola Tinubu to review progress in bilateral cooperation and advance agreements reached during Tinubu’s state visit to France in November 2024.
The visit will be Macron’s first trip to Nigeria as French president since July 2018, when he met then-President Muhammadu Buhari and visited Lagos, including the New Afrika Shrine. France’s foreign ministry also lists July 2018 as Macron’s previous presidential visit to Nigeria.
Officials from the French presidency have reportedly begun arriving in Nigeria to engage their Nigerian counterparts and finalise arrangements ahead of Macron’s arrival.
The planned visit follows Tinubu’s three-day state visit to France in November 2024, during which the two presidents discussed finance, energy transition, solid minerals, trade and investment, communications and other areas of bilateral cooperation.
France’s foreign ministry said Tinubu’s 2024 state visit gave a strategic and global dimension to the Nigeria-France partnership, with both countries signing several declarations of intent covering economic cooperation, sustainable and solidarity investments, critical minerals, banking and the creative industries.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga had described Tinubu’s 2024 visit as an opportunity to strengthen political, economic and cultural relations and create additional areas for partnership.
French Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Marc Fonbaustier, first announced Macron’s planned visit in July during France’s National Day celebration in Abuja.
Fonbaustier said the French president’s visit would enable both countries to assess progress under their bilateral roadmap and determine priorities for the next phase of their relationship.
“Together, our two presidents will assess the progress of our roadmap and outline the key elements of our relationship for the years to come,” the ambassador said.
The ambassador has previously described the Nigeria-France relationship as a partnership based on equality, mutual respect and shared strategic interests.
Areas expected to feature prominently in the engagement include trade and investment, energy, agriculture, security, critical minerals, infrastructure and cultural cooperation.
The planned visit also comes against the backdrop of sustained high-level contacts between Abuja and Paris. Tinubu recently met Macron during his working vacation in France, with the Nigerian president departing Paris for Nigeria on September 29.
Fonbaustier has also highlighted Macron’s longstanding personal connection with Nigeria.
According to the ambassador, Macron spent six months in Nigeria as a student about 24 years ago, an experience he said contributed to the French president’s understanding of Africa.
“The new relationship between Africa and France was, in some way, born in Nigeria or ‘Made in Nigeria’,” Fonbaustier said.