… Nigeria, Saudi Arabia to Establish Bilateral Council

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By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has solicited the support of the United States of America to help Nigeria in accessing the $60 billion infrastructure fund under the United States International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC).

The USIDFC is an executive agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for providing foreign aid through the financing of private development projects.

The President met with U.S Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin in Riyadh on Wednesday and they had positive discussions on investments in Nigeria under the new USIDFC) which provides $60 billion for investments in developing nations.

Speaking at the meeting held on the margins of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum, Buhari said that Nigeria would leverage on the U.S facility to address current challenges confronting her power sector as well as general upgrade of infrastructure.

The Nigerian leader, according to Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, stated that President Buhari expressed the willingness of the Nigerian government to mobilize additional capital from development finance institutions for the upgrade of critical infrastructure in the country.

Buhari commended the U.S government for supporting Nigeria’s anti-terrorism efforts. 

President Buhari and Mnuchin also discussed areas of strengthening Nigeria’s ongoing collaboration with the United States on stopping terrorist financing.

Mnuchin was accompanied by Brent Macintosh, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and Marshall Billingslea, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing in the United States Treasury Department.

The Treasury Secretary used the occasion to introduce Macintosh, who was recently promoted Under Secretary for International Affairs by President Trump after the previous Under Secretary David Malpass was elected President of the World Bank.

The Nigerian leader congratulated Macintosh on his elevation and requested for his continued support to Nigeria.

Nigeria, Saudi to Establish Bilateral Council

Also, Buhari accepted an invitation from the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, for the establishment of Nigeria- Saudi Council aimed at promoting investments and enhancing relations between both countries.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu stated that the decision was the highpoint of a bilateral meeting between the Nigerian leader and the Crown Prince which took place on the margins of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference.

The meeting was initially scheduled to hold in the office of the Crown Prince but out of courtesy and respect for the Nigerian leader, Prince Salman insisted that he would meet with President Buhari in his hotel room at The Ritz Carlton, Riyadh.

The Council will be made up of government officials and business leaders from both countries and the areas of focus are: economic growth and development, investments in oil and non-oil sectors, and security cooperation.

Buhari and the Crown Prince agreed that the first assignment for the Council is to establish a legal and operational framework that will facilitate investments beneficial to both countries. 

The Council will be established in the next two months while meetings will be held twice every year.

To ensure that relations between both countries remain active, it was also agreed that leaders of both countries, at the highest level, will meet at least once every year to review the progress of the joint council and ensure closer collaboration on issues of mutual interest.

President Buhari thanked the Crown Prince for the Kingdom’s interest in investing in Nigeria and the initiative to establish the Council which would form the foundation for a stronger Nigeria-Saudi relationship.

‘‘Nigeria has a large population mainly made up of dynamic, young people and partnerships of this type will help them to be productive and prosperous,’’ the President said, assuring that his government will continue to provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country.

Speaking on regional and international issues, President Buhari shared the view of the Crown Prince that with the collapse of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the next frontier for terrorism is the Sahel region.

The Nigerian leader commended the Saudi authorities for keeping the issue of the security situation in Sahel region on the front burner.

The Saudi Crown Prince said that the security challenges in the Sahel should be seen as a global issue, adding that ‘‘Saudi Arabia is prepared to participate in the engagement and sensitisation of the whole world to the problems in sub-Saharan Africa,’’ he said.     

On bilateral issues, the Crown Prince reiterated the preparedness of the Kingdom to support Nigeria’s development agenda, noting that the country had the potential to be among the top 20 economies in the world.

‘‘Saudi Arabia is eager to support Nigeria and we want to be a part of Nigeria’s journey to be among the top 20 economies in the world,’’ he said.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the President the Saudis have invested 40 billion U.S. dollars in India, 10 billion dollars in Pakistan and 20 billion dollars in Indonesia and are willing to do the same in Nigeria given the favourable business environment.

The Nigerian President re-emphasized that enabling a conducive business environment will remain a priority for his administration.