President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have agreed to explore initiatives to strengthen Nigeria’s economy through collaboration in energy, agriculture, and infrastructure.
They also discussed forming a Nigeria-Saudi Business Council to promote bilateral relations between the two oil-producing countries.
These commitments were made during a meeting on the sidelines of the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.
Tinubu arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 8 pm yesterday.
He was received by senior members of his administration, including his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila; Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Wale Edun and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement yesterday that Crown Prince Mohammed pledged his support for Nigeria’s ongoing economic reforms.
According to Onanuga, the Prince likened the reforms to his efforts to stabilize and strengthen Saudi Arabia since becoming Prime Minister.
He assured Tinubu of his support and promised to drive his team toward realizing joint goals in the discussed sectors.
One focus of the talks was the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), which acquired a 35.43 percent stake in Nigeria’s agricultural giant, Olam by investing $1.24
Further investments from SALIC are under consideration to make Olam one of the world’s largest agro-allied enterprises.
In attendance were high-ranking Saudi officials, including Minister of National Guard Prince Abdullah bin Bandar and Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman.
Onanuga said in the statement that the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit renewed the mandate of Nigeria and other member states on the ministerial committee assigned to engage with global leaders in seeking an end to the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.
This decision was part of the resolution issued after the summit, in Riyadh.
President Tinubu and other leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the League of Arab States were in attendance.
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