In a promising development, the government of Saudi Arabia has vowed to inject investment into the renovation of Nigeria’s refineries and extend financial support to bolster the country’s foreign exchange reforms.
The commitment was made during a bilateral meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Tinubu, held on the fringes of the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh.
As part of the pledge to bolster the Central Bank’s efforts in reforming Nigeria’s foreign exchange system, the Saudi government has pledged a substantial deposit of foreign exchange to enhance the country’s forex liquidity.
Prince bin Salman lauded the economic reforms spearheaded by President Tinubu and reiterated the Saudi government’s dedication to bolstering these reforms, thus enabling Nigeria to harness their full potential benefits.
The Crown Prince expressed Saudi Arabia’s earnest desire to witness Nigeria thrive under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and achieve its full economic prowess as the giant of Africa.
Besides, Prince bin Salman underscored agriculture and renewable energy as pivotal sectors of interest for Saudi Arabia’s investment in Nigeria, aiming to reinforce the country’s food and energy security, respectively.
The Crown Prince disclosed that Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil conglomerate, Saudi Aramco, will spearhead the refinery investments in Nigeria, with the revamp anticipated to be concluded within the next two to three years.
Furthermore, the Crown Prince extended gratitude to Nigeria for its proactive involvement in and support for OPEC+.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the Saudi leader for the proposed investments and assured that Nigeria would exercise prudent management and oversight. Both leaders pledged to collaborate closely over the coming six months to formulate a comprehensive roadmap and blueprint to actualize the agreed investments and their desired outcomes.
Additionally, President Tinubu and the Crown Prince deliberated on the imperative to fortify security cooperation to combat terrorism, illegal migration, and other crises, not only within Nigeria but also across West Africa and the Sahel region.
The two leaders also delved into the existing economic and socio-cultural collaboration between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, concurring on the impetus to open new frontiers in their bilateral relations.
