U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to the White House Wednesday, one day after Mr. Jonathan addressed a United Nations conference on AIDS held in New York.

The White House says the two presidents will discuss regional and global developments, and work at deepening their countries' relationship.

On Tuesday, Mr. Jonathan called for a “final solution” to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has now raged for 30 years.

He said that as the largest contributor to peacekeeping in Africa, Nigeria has a “major stake” in ensuring that its armed forces are protected against HIV and AIDS, and are given adequate treatment.

Mr. Obama meets with the president of another West African country, Gabon, on Thursday. The White House says the meeting with President Ali Ben Bongo is aimed at advancing the U.S.-Gabonese partnership on a range of critical regional and global issues.

Gabon holds the presidency of the U.N. Security Council for the month of June.