Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
UN Secretary-General to meet Buhari, civil societity reps in Nigeria on May 3
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is joining Muslims during his current visit to three West Africa, starting on Saturday April 30, 2022, to mark the end of the Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan. He will also discuss and highlight the impact of the Ukraine war on the African continent.
His first portt of call will be in Senegal; next will be Niger on Monday and on Tuesday May 3, 2022, he will hold a meeting with Nigeria on Tuesday and then return to New York.
The U.N. chief will share an Iftar dinner — the meal breaking the Ramadan fast — with President Macky Sall of Senegal, who assumed the presidency of the African Union earlier this year, Haq said.
Guterres will also take part in celebrations of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan with Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, Haq said, and he is also scheduled to meet Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari.
The transcript of the briefing prior to Guterres’ visit as issued by the U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq (which USAfricaonline.com has a copy) noted that: “The Secretary-General will meet and share an Iftar dinner with President Macky Sall of Senegal, who assumed the presidency of the African Union earlier this year. He will also take part in Eid celebrations with President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, and he is scheduled to meet President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria. In the three countries, the Secretary‑General will have meetings with senior Government officials, as well as civil society representatives, including women, youth groups and religious leaders. He will meet families deeply affected by violence and instability in the Sahel, including people internally displaced and refugees. Mr. [António] Guterres will also see first-hand the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities and will assess progress and challenges to the COVID-19 recovery. The Secretary‑General began annual Ramadan solidarity visits when he was High Commissioner for Refugees, but the tradition was interrupted by the pandemic. This year, he will also use the visit to express his solidarity with victims of terrorism in the region.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has made prior visits to parts of Africa. By Chido Nwangwu. Follow USAfrica on Twitter @USAfricaLive
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