1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Nigeria

Canadian foreign minister in Abuja talks

Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy began talks with Nigerian government officials on Wednesday, designed to strengthen relations after two years of rupture, news agencies reported.

Axworthy, who arrived on Tuesday in Abuja, told reporters he had come to “strengthen and broaden” bilateral relations because of the greater moves to re-establish democracy in Nigeria. He will meet the Nigerian leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, and re-open the Canadian High Commission, which was closed after Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth over its human rights record. Axworthy was a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) which recommended Nigeria’s suspension.


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join