Tinubu holds closed-door talks with Madagascar president in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu is currently holding closed-door talks with the President of Madagascar, Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The visiting Malagasy leader arrived at the State House at about 2:57 p.m. local time, where he was received with ceremonial honours, including a guard of honour mounted by the Presidential Brigade of Guards accompanied by traditional bagpipers.

He was received by a delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, before being ushered into the President’s office complex for a closed-door session.

The high-level engagement marks Randrianirina’s first official visit to Nigeria since he assumed office in October 2025, following a political transition that saw the exit of former President Andry Rajoelina.

It is the first recorded visit by a Magalasy head of state to Nigeria as most direct bilateral exchanges between leaders of both countries have historically occurred on neutral ground.

Monday’s visit comes weeks after a brief bilateral encounter between Tinubu and Randrianirina on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya in May.

Earlier engagements between successive leaders of both nations, including former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, were largely restricted to multilateral summits abroad.

Since taking office, Randrianirina has embarked on several diplomatic tours, visiting key African allies such as Gabon and had expressed Madagascar’s intention to pursue partnership status with the BRICS bloc.

Although the agenda of the talks are not known at the time of this report, PUNCH Online understands that the discussions will center on mutual areas of interest, including regional security, agricultural cooperation, and the mitigating impacts of climate change, which has severely affected Madagascar’s southern infrastructure in recent months.

More details to come…