Saudi Crown Prince lauds Tinubu over economic reforms, assures support

The Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has commended President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, noting similarities to his steps to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s stability and development when he became Prime Minister.

The Saudi Crown Prince also assured Nigeria of his support and promised to motivate his team to realise the various areas of partnerships discussed at a meeting with Tinubu in Saudi Arabia.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.

Onanuga noted that the Crown Prince and Tinubu met in Riyadh on the sidelines of the joint Arab-Islamic Summit on Monday, November 11.

He said the two leaders explored potential areas for cooperation, particularly oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure, and the constitution of the Saudi-Nigeria Business Council.

The presidential spokesman stated: “Nigeria wants an agreement with the Saudi government over a proposed $5 billion bilateral trade facility between the two countries.

“The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) invested $1.24 billion in 2022 to acquire a 35.43% stake in Olam Agri, one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural firms.

“Talks are being held so that SALIC can have more stake in the company.

“The Saudis hoped the investment would make Olam one of the biggest agro-allied businesses in the world.”

Onanuga added that the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit has renewed the mandate of Nigeria and other member states on the ministerial committee assigned to engage with global leaders in seeking an end to the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Tinubu seeks end to Israel-Gaza war at Saudi summit

Onanuga noted that the decision was part of the resolution issued after the extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on Monday.

He said the Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was formed by a resolution at the First Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on November 11, 2023.

According to him, the group includes the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, and Jordan.

Onanuga said the summit, in its final resolution, urged the ministerial committee to “intensify its efforts and expand them to include working on ending the aggression on Lebanon.”

The presidential spokesman noted that the committee will submit periodic reports, which the secretariats of the OIC and the League of Arab States will circulate to member states.

He said the committee has also been tasked with further engaging actors across the Global South in the efforts to strengthen international support towards ending the war and Israeli occupation.

Onanuga said the resolution stressed the importance of protecting sea lanes by rules of international law and welcomed the signing of the tripartite mechanism by the League of Arab States, OIC, and the African Union to support the Palestinian cause.

He stated that the summit commended the African Union’s steadfast support of Palestine, adding that the leaders condemned recent Israeli military actions in northern Gaza, describing them as “crimes of genocide,” including allegations of torture, executions, disappearances, and “ethnic cleansing”.

The Star