The president of Nigeria Bola Tinubu met with leaders of the United States, Germany and South Korea on the sidelines of the just concluded G20 summit.
Nigeria attended the summit in New Delhi, India as a guest. He also witnessed the granting of permanent membership to the African Union.
Announcing the meeting with Mr. Tinubu, the White House in a statement said: “President Joe Biden met with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu today on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi, India, to reinforce our longstanding commitment to the relationship. between the United States and Nigeria and with the long-standing friendship between our two countries and peoples.”
While praising Tinubu’s economic reforms in Nigeria and “strong leadership” at ECOWAS, Biden said Nigeria’s invitation to the G20 Summit is a recognition of Nigeria’s important global role as Africa’s largest democracy and economy.
According to a separate statement shared by Presidential Spokesperson Ajuri Ngalale, Tinubu also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with whom he discussed the economic partnership between Nigeria and Germany.
During the meeting, Scholz informed the Nigerian president of his desire to visit Nigeria in October.
Tinubu also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss similar types of partnerships.
Read Mr Ngelale’s full statement below.
PRESIDENT TINUBU FORMALLY MEETS THREE PRINCIPAL COUNTERS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIPLOMACY; ADVANCES TO NEXT PRACTICAL STEPS IN BILATERAL RELATIONSHIPS
In the hustle and bustle of off-camera activity in the side rooms of the G-20 Summit, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was unwilling to stay away from the action.
The President met with the Heads of State of three nations who have been identified as key partners in his economic development diplomacy campaign for local investment and wealth creation.
For the leader of Africa’s largest economy, a meeting with the CEO of Europe’s largest economy, Germany, presented a unique opportunity to expand the ties of prosperity for the people of Nigeria, but with a pragmatic approach to ensure the effective execution of the agreements reached. .
“For us it is not just about designing the financial architecture for an expanded economic partnership. It is also about the feasibility of aligning the prospects of its large-scale manufacturers, such as Volkswagen and others, with the reality of the new incentives my government is putting in place for them to come and thrive across multiple value chains and sectors within our country. ”the President implored.
Apparently intrigued by the specific economic focus of the President’s proposal, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded by recognizing the mutually beneficial nature of an escalation in economic ties with Africa’s largest economy.
“Thank you for this important discussion, Mr. President. I can appreciate this opportunity to advance our economic relations. Your market is unique and our companies have history in Nigeria. We recognize the business-friendly reforms he has implemented. I am pleased to inform you of my desire to visit you in Nigeria in October, which will allow us to carry out these initiatives,” confided the German leader.
Following President Tinubu’s acceptance of the German Chancellor’s visit request, the President proceeded to sit down with the leader of Asia’s fourth largest economy, South Korea, during which South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol praised the president’s regional leadership in defending democratic principles. and standards.
“I wish to commend your strong leadership, following the peaceful transfer of power from your predecessor and seeing a stable country in West Africa that is growing in stature,” he said.
President Tinubu responded by quickly directing the discussion to his economic focus and immediately put forward proposals for a greater South Korean presence in Nigeria’s local manufacturing sector.
“We will not leave anything hanging. We will finalize what we agreed to and execute it. We will work point by point with you to ensure rapid implementation MoUs in all partnership sectors that will involve the active presence of your largest companies, not only in terms of Nigerian consumption, but also in local Nigerian production, from telecommunications to technology, and oil and gas. gas,” said the Nigerian leader.
The South Korean president responded in agreement, specifically noting that Nigeria’s education, technology and energy sectors are of utmost interest to South Korean investors and that he will mobilize his business community to take advantage of new Nigerian incentives for local industry.
Offering an invitation to visit Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu would conclude formal G-20 talks with the Asian giant and host nation, which had invited Nigeria to the G-20 Summit, by meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“There are many lessons our nation can learn from the rapid progress India has made under his leadership. We see fantastic opportunities between our nations in all sectors, such as agricultural development, but specifically, we can do more to promote ICT innovation and the emergence of frontline financial technology growth in Africa. Nigeria has local players who can drive it from the front,” the Nigerian leader stated confidently.
The host Head of State responded affirmatively to the economic partnership proposal, while expressing gratitude for the Nigerian leader’s invitation to visit the country.
“Our teams must now stay in close contact to detail our priority areas of enhanced cooperation regarding agriculture, capacity development in defense industries and even FinTech growth. I see your commitment. “We believe that there are immense prospects for Nigeria in the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and we will ensure that we come together and move forward on these fronts very quickly,” the Indian leader concluded.
During the G-20 side meetings, President Tinubu also had important informal exchanges of views with the President of the United States, Joe R. Biden; the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and the president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, among many others.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special advisor to the president
(Media and advertising)
September 10, 2023