Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, joined the Vice-President Kashim Shettima as he led the Nigerian delegation to the inaugural Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange Forum (also called the Pearl Exchange Forum) in Addis Ababa, which ran from 7 October to 9 October.

Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Mr Otti, Ferdinand Ekeoma, disclosed this in a statement issued on 10 October in Umuahia, Abia State.

The objective of the visit was government-to-government learning on nutrition delivery, using Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration – its commitment to end stunting in children under two by 2030 – as a model for Nigeria’s Nutrition 774 (N774) Initiative which was endorsed at the 148th National Economic Council meeting.

The delegation, which departed Abuja on 6 October, was received by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU, Nasir Aminu, and senior Ethiopian officials.

Mr Shettima-led delegation held a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia Temesgen Tiruneh on strengthening Nigeria-Ethiopia cooperation in agriculture, trade, food security and aviation.

Key activities at the event included policy sessions on building a federal-state-local compact for nutrition

The Nigerian delegation made a field visit to a wheat farm and banana plantation in Oromia Region, the Bounty of the Basket Training Centre, households in Mojo town, and Jabdu Motors in Bishoftu.