President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, have agreed to explore ways to bolster Nigeria’s economy through energy, agriculture, and infrastructure.
They also considered establishing a Nigeria-Saudi Business Council to drive bilateral ties between the two oil-producing nations.
The two leaders resolved on these at 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 stabilise and strengthen Saudi Arabia since becoming Prime Minister.
He assured Tinubu of his support and promised to drive his team towards realising 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 billion in 2022.
Further investments from SALIC are under consideration to make Olam one of the world’s largest agro-allied enterprises.
