Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed his Nigerien counterpart Abdourahamane Tiani with an official ceremony in Ankara.

A cavalry escort accompanied Tiani’s motorcade to the presidential complex, where Erdogan received the Nigerien leader at the main entrance on Thursday.

Following the arrival ceremony, a military band played the national anthems of both countries. The ceremony also featured flags and soldiers representing the 16 historic Turkic states and included a 21-gun salute.

Tiani inspected the ceremonial guard and greeted troops before the two leaders introduced their respective delegations.

Erdogan and Tiani later posed for photographs in front of Turkish and Nigerien flags before holding bilateral talks.

The two presidents are also scheduled to chair interdelegation meetings, oversee the signing of agreements and hold a joint news conference.

Erdogan is expected to host an official dinner in honour of Tiani later in the day.

Several senior Turkish officials attended the ceremony, including Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Trade Minister Omer Bolat, National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin and Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran.