President Muhammadu Buhari will likely leave Nigeria on Sunday to join more than 40 African leaders attending the 7th India-Africa Forum Summit, the first under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
There has been no official confirmation yet of the president’s visit, but feelers from India said President Buhari is among the dignitaries being expected.
The summit will begin on Monday 26 October and end on 29 October.
The summit was initially scheduled for last December , but it was postponed over the Ebola crisis.
The summit will be the biggest gathering of foreign dignitaries in India since 1983.
Hotels have been block-booked and intense security is expected to add to the chaos on Delhi’s congested streets.
More than 40 leaders have confirmed their attendance, with controversy looming over the possible appearance of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
India’s presence in Africa is dwarfed by China, whose bilateral trade topped $200 billion last year — more than the GDP of the 30 smallest African economies combined.
Yet economic winds blowing across the Indian Ocean have warmed considerably, with trade swelling twenty-fold from about $3 billion in 2000 to $70 billion in 2014, according to government data.