Nigeria, Saudi reach landmark investment agreements

Nigeria has secured mouth watering investment pledges from the Saudi Arabian government as the two countries seek to renew their bilateral relations. The agreements, which included renovations of Nigeria’s moribund oil refineries, were signed between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman…

Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to a number of investment and cooperation agreements as parts of efforts to strengthen ties between the two regional giants.

The deals included the Saudi government’s pledge to invest in the renovation of Nigeria’s moribund oil refineries and provide financial assistance to the government’s foreign-exchange reforms.

The agreements were struck during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Saudi-Africa summit in Riyadh between Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Nigeria has launched daring reforms under President Tinubu, eliminating a popular but costly petrol subsidy and unifying the country’s numerous exchange rates as part of measures “aimed at improving the ease of doing business.”

Commenting on the agreement, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the Saudi government is committed to make “a substantial deposit of foreign exchange to boost Nigeria’s forex liquidity” in the face of a biting foreign exchange crisis.

Earlier, the Nigerian leader assured potential Saudi investors of the safety of their investments in Africa’s largest economy.

He further called for collaboration between Saudi and Nigerian to fight extremist insurgencies and other security challenges across the most populous nation in Africa.