President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria is open to strategic partnerships and has welcomed new investment initiatives from Qatar, especially in agriculture.
He said this on Friday while receiving Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, the Special Envoy of the Amir of Qatar, at the State House in Abuja.
According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, the envoy, who is also Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said a high-level Qatari business delegation would visit Nigeria in the coming weeks to explore opportunities in agriculture, food security, and petrochemicals.
President Tinubu assured the envoy that Nigeria was ready to build on the progress from his 2024 visit to Qatar, adding that all bilateral agreements between both countries would be implemented.
‘To all the members of the delegation, I want to say a big thank you for coming to Nigeria. We are grateful to God for what we have experienced as partners in progress. I am also glad that the Amir of Qatar greatly remembers the issues discussed during my visit last year.
‘Let me commend the brotherly relations between Qatar and Nigeria. The Ambassador knows that I take Qatar very seriously. We are willing to go further in our bilateral relations’, he said.
He also commended Qatar’s efforts in global peace and human development and said Nigeria values its relationship with the country.
‘I am proud of your efforts to bring peace and stability to the world. I see your efforts in human development, peace and prosperity. Like you, we are sandwiched between the challenge of terrorism and helping our neighbours. We are conscious of who is our friend and those helping us to ameliorate the problems’, he said.
President Tinubu also noted ongoing reforms to streamline Nigeria’s tax system, making it easier for foreign investors to do business in the country.
He stated, ‘We are making efforts to reform our tax system. Going by the experiences of the past and the need to depart from old ways, our reforms have been hard. I made tough decisions so that we could grow. We are gradually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
‘You can’t find a better partner than Nigeria. I always follow the global issues and your efforts. You have to do more in Nigeria to help fight poverty in the humanitarian area. You have done well in developing a knowledge-based economy in Qatar, but what about Nigeria?’
The Qatari envoy said his country wanted Nigeria as a strategic partner in Africa and looked forward to deeper ties in agriculture and other sectors.
‘We are proud of the level of relations we have reached with Nigeria. I am very impressed with our partnership with the country, which is not just government to government but also people to people.
‘Our Ambassador has been following up with the projects. We have much to do together in agriculture, food, and petrochemicals. We have some companies telling us that we should create a way for them to come into Nigeria’, he said.
Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, whose responsibilities include mediating peace in Africa and the Middle East, said some Qatari companies will visit Nigeria to discuss investment opportunities in agriculture.
‘The message I have from His Highness, Amir of Qatar, is that he wants Nigeria to be a strategic partner in Africa’, he added.
