The spokesperson for the Nigerian presidency, Ajuri Ngelale, stated today that "President Bola Tinubu assured potential Saudi investors that their investments are safe in the largest economy in Africa, as part of his efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries." In a statement, he noted that "Tinubu, speaking at the Saudi African Summit in Riyadh, promised investors one of the highest returns on investment in the world."
Tinubu called for cooperation in combating Islamist militants, including Boko Haram, and other security challenges in the most populous country in Africa. Tinubu was quoted saying, "Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have always enjoyed a special relationship at both the bilateral and multilateral levels. Over the past six decades, our bilateral cooperation has diversified to include a number of areas of mutual interest."
Tinubu emphasized that "the government is implementing the boldest reforms in decades, having removed fuel subsidies and unified multiple exchange rates in the country as part of measures to improve the ease of doing business."
The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday for cooperation in the oil and gas industry, which aims to further enhance their economic relations. Nigeria is seeking to boost investments to revive an economy suffering from high inflation, a shortage of foreign currency, widespread insecurity, and crude oil theft.
