Nigeria's Obasanjo to meet US president Thursday

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo,also the current chairman of the African Union (AU), on Wednesday left for the United States to meet US President George W. Bush, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Obasanjo will hold talks with Bush on Thursday morning at the White House on the general situation on the African continent, including AU efforts to end the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, the situation in the Great Lakes region, especially the growing tension along the borders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo (DRC).

The issue of Cote d'Ivoire, which has been on the brink of renewed full-scale war since Nov. 4 when government military launched an offensive in the rebel-held north, is also on their agenda.

The Nigerian president is expected to reiterate his appeal to the international community to support Africa's efforts at solvingtheir problems internally without foreign intervention.

The two leaders will also review US-Nigerian bilateral relations, including economic cooperation, expanded trade and investment opportunities, the White House said earlier.

Obasanjo is scheduled to return to his Otta farm in southwest Nigeria on Friday night.

Source: Xinhua