Saudi Crown Prince Assures President Tinubu of Support for Nigeria’s Economic Reforms

Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has assured President Bola Tinubu that his country would support Nigeria’s economic reforms.

According to a release by the presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the crown prince gave the assurance when he met with Tinubu on Monday in Riyadh on the side-lines of the joint Arab-Islamic Summit.

The crown prince commended Tinubu’s economic reforms, noting similarities to his steps to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s stability and development when he became the prime minister.

Further assuring Nigeria of his support, he also promised to motivate his team to realise the various areas of partnerships discussed at the meeting.

The two leaders explored potential areas for cooperation, particularly oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure, and constitution of the Saudi-Nigeria Business Council.

Nigeria wanted an agreement with the Saudi government over a proposed $5 billion bilateral trade facility between the two countries.

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) invested $1.24 billion in 2022 to acquire a 35.43 per cent stake in Olam Agri, one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural firms.

Talks were being held so that SALIC could have more stake in the company, but the Saudis hoped the investment would make Olam one of the biggest agro-allied businesses in the world.

At the meeting with the crown prince were the Saudi Minister of National Guard, Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz; Minister of Defence, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz; and several senior officials.

Meanwhile, the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit renewed the mandate of Nigeria and other member states on the ministerial committee set up to engage with global leaders in seeking an end to the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.

The decision was part of the resolutions issued after the extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 11.

Tinubu and other leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the League of Arab States were in attendance.

The Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was formed by a resolution at the First Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on November 11, 2023.

The group included the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, and Jordan.

In its final resolution, the summit urged the ministerial committee to “intensify its efforts and expand them to include working on ending the aggression on Lebanon”.

The committee was expected to submit periodic reports, which the secretariats of the OIC and League of Arab States would circulate to member states.

The committee was also tasked with further engaging actors across the Global South in the efforts to strengthen international support towards ending the war and Israeli occupation.

The resolution stressed the importance of protecting sea lanes by rules of international law and welcomed the signing of the tripartite mechanism by the League of Arab States, OIC, and the African Union to support the Palestinian cause.

The summit praised African Union’s steadfast support of Palestine.

The leaders condemned recent Israeli military actions in northern Gaza, describing them as “crimes of genocide”, including allegations of torture, executions, disappearances, and ethnic cleansing.

They criticised ongoing efforts to solidify Israel’s presence in occupied East Jerusalem, reaffirming it as the “eternal capital” of Palestine and calling for the unification of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem under a sovereign Palestinian state.

The resolution reiterated “the full sovereignty of the State of Palestine over occupied East (Jerusalem), the eternal capital of Palestine”.

It rejected any Israeli actions aimed at altering the city’s identity or consolidating its occupation.

The summit further expressed unwavering support for Lebanon’s security, stability, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens.

Meanwhile, Tinubu, yesterday, returned to Abuja, the nation’s capital, after a two-day trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he attended the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit.

The president’s official aircraft, Nigeria Air Force 1, touched down at the presidential wing of Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, about 8pm.

Tinubu was received on arrival by his Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike; finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun; and National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

Deji Elumoye

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