President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 17th BRICS summit.
The presidential aircraft, which took off from Saint Lucia earlier on Friday, touched down at Rio International Airport around 8:45pm local time.
On arrival, Tinubu was welcomed by Carlos Sergio Sobral Duarte, Brazil’s secretary for Africa and the Middle East.
The Nigerian leader is one of four African presidents attending this year’s summit.
Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, said Tinubu’s participation follows an invitation from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil.
He said Nigeria is attending the meeting as a “partner country”, which ranks above a guest nation.
Onanuga added that the designation reflects a growing recognition of Nigeria’s strategic importance within the bloc.
South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia are the African nations with full BRICS membership.
Leaders from the bloc, known for representing rapidly expanding economies, are meeting in Rio to deepen cooperation on trade and technology.
This year’s summit is taking place amid rising concerns over fresh tariff threats from United States President Donald Trump.
