Yemi Olakitan
The Federal Government has said the Saudi Arabian government promised to invest in modernizing the nation’s refineries to get them back into operation and restructuring the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, revealed this in a press released on Friday.
According to Idris, the promises were made by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, at a private meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Riyadh, outside the Saudi-Africa Summit.
The statement said, “The Crown Prince made a suggestion that Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil corporation, will spearhead the refinery investments in Nigeria, with the renovation expected to be finished in a two- to three-year period.
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Additionally, the Crown Prince thanked Nigeria for its enthusiastic support of and involvement in OPEC+.
The Saudi Government would provide a sizeable foreign exchange deposit to increase Nigeria’s foreign exchange liquidity in order to assist the Central Bank’s ongoing reforms of that country’s foreign exchange policy.
Prince bin Salman praised President Tinubu’s economic reforms and reaffirmed the Saudi government’s commitment to assisting in their implementation and allowing Nigeria to fully benefit.
“We will work together over the next six months to develop a comprehensive road map and blueprint to deliver on the agreed investments and outcomes,” Tinubu said, thanking the Saudi leader for the proposed investments and promising that Nigeria would ensure prudent management and oversight.
In addition, President Tinubu and Crown Prince bin Salman discussed the necessity of bolstering security cooperation to address issues like illegal migration, terrorism, and other crises that affect not only Nigeria but also West Africa and the Sahel region.
The two presidents decided to expand their bilateral ties while also talking about the current sociocultural and economic collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.
In addition to this, Prince bin Salman mentioned Saudi Arabia’s interest in investing in agriculture and renewable energy in Nigeria to support the latter’s efforts to achieve food and energy security.
“Ambassador Adekunle Adeleke, the state chief of protocol, Nigerian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Yahaya Lawal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, and Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, attended the bilateral meeting.”
