The President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will this week travel to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where he is scheduled to attend two important events, the Saudi-Africa Summit and the Arab-Africa Summit, held on November 10 and 11, 2023, respectively.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, “President Tinubu will be heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend two major summits: the Saudi-Africa Summit and the Arab-Africa Summit. These summits reflect efforts at strengthening existing and new interests in areas such as diplomatic relations, bilateral agreements in business, economy, and security, and foreign direct investment (FDI).”
The summits will also aim at promoting trade and investment between Saudi Arabia and Africa. As the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Tinubu’s participation will be to ensure the strengthening of relations between Saudi Arabia, the Arab League of Nations, and Africa, especially West Africa, in which Nigeria plays a leading role.
“Obviously, President Tinubu is very keen on ensuring that the Federal Republic of Nigeria within the context of the continent is in a position to take full advantage of opportunities that will be afforded by the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, where we will be having a single trade market of over one billion Africans,” Ngelale said.
The event scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia will help with infrastructure growth and connectivity, including the need to construct a high-speed train connecting North Africa and the Middle East. Africa’s strategy for the event is to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to advance stronger mutual trade and economic relations between Africa and Arab countries across the globe.
Ajuri Ngelale further stated that President Tinubu will meet with investors to attract FDI into Nigeria’s struggling economy to increase productivity, create employment, and boost economic growth across the critical sectors of the economy.
