Abuja – Nigerian President Bola Tinubu received Madagascan President Michael Randrianirina at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday for talks focused on strengthening diplomatic ties and expanding cooperation between the two countries across several key sectors.
Randrianirina arrived at the State House Forecourt at around 2:57 pm on a courtesy visit and was received by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, before being escorted to the President’s office for talks with Tinubu.
Discussions covered bilateral cooperation in hydrocarbons exploration, energy partnerships and broader economic collaboration, with the Madagascan leader expressing particular interest in working with Nigerian companies in the energy sector. Both presidents also spoke to the importance of expanding cooperation between African countries more broadly.
Nigeria expressed sympathy over a recent hurricane that struck Madagascar and pledged assistance toward the country’s development challenges. Strategic partnerships between companies in both countries were also discussed.
Randrianirina made the point that Nigeria and Madagascar’s geographical proximity made closer cooperation a natural fit, saying the two nations were “joined at the hip,” with Tinubu making clear he was willing to expand partnerships between the two nations.
Monday’s meeting was not the first between the two leaders. On the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi last month, Tinubu and Randrianirina discussed African solidarity, trade and economic cooperation, according to Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The two leaders also met in Dar es Salaam in January at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, where both countries were among 12 African signatories to a declaration focused on providing electricity access to 300 million people across the continent by 2030.
Officials said Monday’s meeting would further those ongoing discussions.
Randrianirina is a former army colonel who was sworn in as Madagascar’s president in October 2025, just days after a military takeover that forced former president Andry Rajoelina to flee the country. Randrianirina had led the CAPSAT army unit that mutinied and joined anti-government protesters before the military announced it had taken over following Rajoelina’s impeachment on charges of desertion of duty.
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