By Matthew Dadiya, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu maximised side line opportunities at the just concluded G-20 Summit in India, as he wooed  Heads of government of the  host nation, South Korea and Germany to better economic collaboration with Nigeria.

The meetings, according to Presidential Spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale were in line with Tinubu’s economic development diplomacy drive for local investment and wealth creation.

Ngelale said in a statement that the meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Europe’s largest economy, Germany, “presented a unique opportunity to expand ties of prosperity for the people of Nigeria, but with a pragmatic approach toward ensuring the effective execution of agreements struck.

“It is not, for us, only a matter of designing the financial architecture for an expanded economic partnership. It is also about the practicality of aligning the perspectives of your large-scale manufacturers, such as Volkswagen and others, with the reality of the new incentives my government is putting in place for them to come and prosper across multiple value chains and sectors inside of our country,” the President was quoted to have  implored.

German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in his response acknowledged the mutually-beneficial nature of an escalation in the scale of economic ties with Nigeria, the statement noted.

“Thank you for this important discussion, Mr. President. I can appreciate this opportunity to advance our economic relations. Your market is unique and our companies have history in Nigeria. We acknowledge the business friendly reforms you have put in place. I am happy to inform you of my desire to visit you in Nigeria in October, which will allow us to carry forward these initiatives,” the German leader confided.

Tinubu, the statement added,  accepted the German Chancellor’s request to visit and then proceeded to  meet  with the Leader of Asia’s fourth largest economy, South Korea, during which, the country’s President, Yoon Suk Yeol, commended the his regional leadership in upholding democratic tenets and norms.

“I wish to commend your strong leadership, following the peaceful transfer of power to you from your predecessor and we see a stable country in West Africa that is growing in stature,” he said.

Tinubu, the statement said  responded by swiftly steering the discussion toward his economic focus as he advanced proposals for an enhanced South Korean presence in Nigeria’s local manufacturing sector.

“We will leave nothing hanging. We will finalise what we agree to and we will execute. We will work point by point with you to secure rapidly implementable MoUs across sectors of partnership that will involve the active presence of your biggest firms, not just in terms of Nigerian consumption, but in local Nigerian production, from telecommunications to technology, and oil & gas,” the Nigerian leader affirmed.

The South Korean President responded in agreement, noting specifically that Nigeria’s education, technology and energy sectors are of utmost interest to South Korean investors and that he will mobilize his business community to take advantage of new Nigerian incentives for local industry.

Offering an invitation to visit Nigeria, Tinubu concluded formal discussions at the G-20 with the Asian giant and host nation, which had invited Nigeria to the G-20 Summit, as he met with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

“There are many lessons our nation can learn from the rapid progress that India has made under your leadership. We see fantastic opportunity between our nations across sectors, such as agricultural development, but specifically, there is more we can do to advance ICT innovation and the emergence of Blue-Chip FinTech growth in Africa. Nigeria has the local players who can drive it from the front,” the Nigerian leader confidently asserted.

The hosting Head of State responded in the affirmative to the economic partnership proposal, even as he expressed gratitude for the Nigerian leader’s invitation to visit.

“Our teams must now stay close in touch to detail our priority areas of upscaled cooperation with respect to agriculture, defense industries capacity building, and even FinTech growth. I see your commitment. We believe there are immense prospects for Nigeria in the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and we will ensure that we come together and make progress on these fronts very rapidly,” the Indian leader concluded.

During the G-20 side line meetings, Tinubu also had substantive, informal exchanges of views with U.S. President Joe R. Biden; European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen; and World Bank President, Ajay Banga, amongst many others, Ngelale said in the statement.

FG Obtains $163m AfDB Loan to Boost Wheat Production – Shettima

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Sunday said the Federal Government had obtained 163 million dollars loan from the African Development Bank to support wheat production in the country.

Shettima stated this  at the palace of the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Sumaila Mera, when he paid a condolence visit to the Emirate and  family of late Sheikh Abubakar Giro.

He re-affirmed the determination of the Tinubu administration to fulfill all its promises to Nigerians, particularly in the agricultural sector.

The Vice President also assured that food security would receive serious attention from the government.

” We have obtained 163 million dollars loan from the African Development Bank to support wheat production. The scheme would be launched soon.

“We need 10,000 hectares of land in Kebbi State. But the scheme would be well executed in Jigawa State with a cultivation of 50,000 hectares of land to boost wheat production.”

In his remarks, the Emir of Argungu, Mera, who prayed for the unity and progress of Nigeria, thanked President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima for their support. (NAN)