The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, has called for robust economic ties with the Middle East and the Nigerian diaspora community in the region.
Cardoso made this call during a meeting with Talal Al-Humond, the Assistant Governor for Monetary Affairs, Saudi Arabia Central Bank, on the sidelines of the just-concluded inaugural Conference on Emerging Markets Economies, organized by the Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabia, and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Regional Office in Riyadh.
According to the apex bank boss, there were lessons to be learned from Saudi Arabia in terms of infrastructural development and tourism.
He added that Saudi Arabia’s dedication to diversifying its economy through innovative environmental projects, large-scale transformation, and tourism investment is essential for development.
The CBN governor also reiterated his dedication to collaborating with the Nigerian diaspora community in the Middle East to improve remittance flows and strengthen Nigeria’s financial sector.
He stated that the CBN will continue enhancing macroeconomic fundamentals to establish an enabling environment that will facilitate the growth of the private sector and the generation of high-quality jobs for Nigerians.
Responding, Talal Al-Humond assured Cardoso that the Saudi Central Bank will work with the CBN to ensure the attainment of mutually beneficial objectives.
Meanwhile, during a panel discussion moderated by the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF, Jihad Azour, at the conference, Cardoso cited reforms in the financial markets that addressed distortions in the Nigerian foreign exchange market, which had previously experienced a gap of up to 60% between the official and parallel market exchange rates.
He noted that due to consistent policy direction, improved market confidence, and enhanced transparency in forex trading, the gap has significantly narrowed to approximately 4-5%.
