Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has pledged support for Nigeria’s economic reform agenda in a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh, where the two leaders discussed expanded cooperation in areas such as oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure, and the establishment of a Saudi-Nigeria Business Council.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Nigeria is seeking a $5 billion bilateral trade facility with Saudi Arabia to boost economic collaboration. Talks also included potential expanded involvement from the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), which acquired a 35.43% stake in Nigeria’s Olam Agri in 2022 as part of a $1.24 billion investment. This investment is intended to position Olam as a major agro-allied business globally.
Prince Mohammed commended Tinubu’s economic reform initiatives, likening them to his own transformative measures in Saudi Arabia. He assured Tinubu of Saudi Arabia’s continued support and directed his team to pursue the outlined areas of partnership.
Joint Arab-Islamic Summit Reaffirms Support for Palestinian and Lebanese Causes
The Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, held on November 11, 2024, renewed Nigeria’s mandate on the Ministerial Committee tasked with addressing the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The Committee, established at the summit’s inaugural session in 2023, includes Nigeria, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, and Jordan.
In the summit’s final resolution, the Ministerial Committee was instructed to expand efforts toward ending hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon. The summit condemned recent Israeli actions in northern Gaza, labeling them as “crimes of genocide” and cited allegations of torture, executions, and “ethnic cleansing.”
Reaffirming support for Palestinian sovereignty, the leaders underscored East Jerusalem as the “eternal capital” of Palestine and called for the unification of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem under a sovereign Palestinian state. The resolution also lauded the African Union’s enduring support for Palestine and condemned efforts to alter East Jerusalem’s status.
The summit expressed strong support for Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty and reiterated the importance of protecting international sea lanes under international law.