President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has landed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marking his attendance at a crucial session of the World Economic Forum.
Following the conclusion of his official visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the president has now touched down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The impending World Economic Forum assembly is primed to delve into pivotal topics concerning Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development. Set to take place on the 28th and 29th of April 2024, the event is poised to attract over 1,000 leaders spanning the spheres of business, government, and academia.
Meanwhile, Tinubu met with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands at his official residence, known as The Catshuis in The Hague, on Thursday.
During the meeting, Tinubu said Nigeria offers immense opportunities across a pool of sectors and that his administration is deepening reforms to enhance the investment climate.
He said Nigeria seeks robust, balanced, and mutually beneficial partnerships that will bring about value-addition in areas like solid minerals.
“Taking a holistic view of the world order, there is a tremendous opportunity between us across trade spheres but especially in solid minerals, where we have high-grade lithium deposits that we know can power the clean energy future of the world. There is excellent value-additive opportunity in Nigeria. The world knows us for oil. They will soon know us for greater innovative exploits in other areas.
“We have an extremely dynamic youth population in Nigeria. It is a young country. 70% of our people are under the age of 30, and when we are referring to 200 million plus citizens, it represents both a massive workforce and a massive market for Dutch and other international investors.
“If our young people know they can achieve a good future in Nigeria, they will stay home and build our nation to greatness. Lawful migration of trained Nigerian minds and hands will be a benefit to Europe, and irregular migration will no longer be a source of fear in Europe if we partner effectively.
“This is what we want and it is why we are adamant about providing student loans and new credit opportunities to not only enhance the skills of our people but also to ensure that they can access a higher quality of life within their legitimate incomes. We will transform our economy, and our young people will be the reason why,” Tinubu stated.
Tinubu asserted that Nigerians have tremendous confidence in themselves and that his confidence in the Nigerian people gave him the courage to take difficult decisions on their behalf, given his full awareness of the need to give Nigerians the long-term tools they need to succeed.
“I am a determined leader of my people. I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain. We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.
“The Nigerian Naira is one of the world’s best performing currencies today. We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us. They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new opportunities for development. As leaders, we must take decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that ,” the President said.