Abuja, Nov 19 (IANS): Visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Abuja and met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and some officials, discussing the US administration's interest in the West African country.

A statement issued by the Nigerian presidency said Buhari and Blinken held talks in Abuja over issues including regional security and climate change. It quoted Blinken as saying that the United States and Nigeria have diverse challenges, but a common denominator is security, and hope for better partnerships.

The US top diplomat, who had held a virtual meeting with the Nigerian leader earlier in the year, hailed the contributions of Buhari to the protection of the climate, particularly his presence and contributions at the recent COP26 climate conference held in Glasgow, Scotland.

At a joint press conference with Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama in Abuja on Thursday, Blinken highlighted a number of areas that the US is willing to further cooperate with Nigeria, including security, climate change, education, health, and work with the West African country in important critical infrastructure under the USAID framework, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nigeria is the second leg of Blinken's three-country tour in Africa starting in Kenya on Wednesday, which will be rounded off in Senegal later this week.