Turkish first lady pays visit to Nigeria

ANKARA

Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan has undertaken a visit to the Nigerian capital Abuja as the guest of honor for a program aimed at enhancing cancer awareness among member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Africa.

“It is gratifying to see that this year, Nigeria hosted the Program for Raising Awareness and Support in the Fight Against Cancer in OIC Member States in Africa, which is a continuation of the initiative we commenced in Istanbul during the 13th Islamic Summit in 2016,” Erdoğan stated in a social media post.

Erdoğan also met with Nigerian first lady Oluremi Tinubu during her visit.

“I sincerely thank Tinubu for pioneering such an important issue in Africa, both for the health of her his own country and for the health of the world. I hope the outcomes of the summit will be auspicious, and I firmly believe that awareness will burgeon through the synergy of unity and collaboration,” Erdoğan expressed.

The first lady, accompanied by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, also visited the Ankara-based cultural institution, Yunus Emre Institute. They inaugurated an exhibition featuring 12 artworks created by female painters. Subsequently, Erdoğan interacted with Nigerian children learning Turkish at the institute. The children performed a traditional Turkish song on the flute and recited the Turkish national anthem. Erdoğan engaged in conversation with the children and posed for photographs with them.