Tinubu Welcomes Qatari Investment Drive, Says Nigeria Is Ready for Strategic Partnership
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed new investment initiatives from the State of Qatar, expressing Nigeria’s readiness to deepen bilateral ties and embrace strategic partnerships, particularly in agriculture, food security, and petrochemical development.
President Tinubu gave the assurance on Friday at the State House in Abuja during a meeting with Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and special envoy of His Highness, the Amir of Qatar.
Dr. Al-Khulaifi conveyed the Amir’s strong interest in strengthening relations with Nigeria, announcing that a high-level Qatari business delegation would visit the country in the coming weeks to explore investment opportunities across key sectors.
“The message I have from His Highness, Amir of Qatar, is that he wants Nigeria to be a strategic partner in Africa,” Al-Khulaifi said.
“We are proud of the level of relations we have reached with Nigeria. I am very impressed with our partnership with the country, which is not just government to government but also people to people.”
President Tinubu, who visited Qatar in 2024 on a state visit, expressed delight that the conversations held during that visit were yielding tangible outcomes.
“To all the members of the delegation, I want to say a big thank you for coming to Nigeria. We are grateful to God for what we have experienced as partners in progress. I am also glad that the Amir of Qatar greatly remembers the issues discussed during my visit last year,” he said.
“Let me commend the brotherly relations between Qatar and Nigeria. The Ambassador knows that I take Qatar very seriously. We are willing to go further in our bilateral relations,” President Tinubu added.
Acknowledging Qatar’s global peace efforts, Tinubu praised the Gulf nation for its maturity and foresight in contributing to international stability.
“I am proud of your efforts to bring peace and stability to the world. I see your efforts in human development, peace and prosperity. Like you, we are sandwiched between the challenge of terrorism and helping our neighbours. We are conscious of who is our friend and those helping us to ameliorate the problems,” he said.
The President also discussed ongoing economic reforms, including changes to Nigeria’s tax system aimed at improving the ease of doing business for both local and foreign investors.
“We are making efforts to reform our tax system. Going by experiences of the past and the need to depart from old ways, our reforms have been hard. I made tough decisions so that we could grow. We are gradually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” he noted.
“You can’t find a better partner than Nigeria. I always follow the global issues and your efforts. You have to do more in Nigeria to help fight poverty in the humanitarian area. You have done well in developing a knowledge-based economy in Qatar, but what about Nigeria?”
President Tinubu stressed that Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, stands as a key partner for Qatar in achieving food sovereignty and shared economic growth.
“We are doing well as much as we can as the leader in Africa. We want to continue to promote good relations with you. We are ready to do whatever we can do from here. We subscribe to peace efforts by your government. There can be no development without peace,” he said.
To ensure the timely implementation of agreements between the two countries, President Tinubu directed the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, to work together on follow-through actions.
Dr. Al-Khulaifi, who is also responsible for mediating peace across Africa and the Middle East, highlighted Qatar’s interest in supporting Nigeria’s development agenda and expressed confidence that the upcoming business delegation would lay the groundwork for a long-term strategic alliance.
“Our Ambassador has been following up with the projects. We have much to do together in agriculture, food, and petrochemicals. We have some companies telling us that we should create a way for them to come into Nigeria,” he said.
