Saudi Arabia's Govt Pledges To Invest And Revamp Nigeria's Refineries, Et Al

The Government of Saudi Arabia has pledged to invest in the revamp of Nigeria’s refineries and provide financial support to sustain the government’s foreign exchange reforms. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Minister of Information and National Orientation. The Saudi Crown Prince, HRH Mohammed bin Salman, made these pledges at a bilateral meeting with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh.

To support the Central Bank’s ongoing reforms of Nigeria’s foreign exchange regime, the Saudi Government will make available a substantial deposit of foreign exchange to boost Nigeria’s forex liquidity. Prince bin Salman commended the economic reforms being implemented by President Tinubu, and expressed the commitment of the Saudi Government to supporting these reforms, and enabling Nigeria to reap the full benefits.

In addition to these, Prince bin Salman also highlighted Agriculture and Renewable Energy as areas of investment interest for Saudi Arabia, in Nigeria, to help the country attain food and energy security, respectively. The refinery investments in Nigeria will be led by the Saudi state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, with the revamp to be completed within a two- to three-year timeframe.

The two leaders vowed to work together over the next six months to develop a comprehensive road-map and blueprint to deliver on the agreed investments and outcomes. Also, President Tinubu and Crown Prince bin Salman spoke on the need to strengthen security cooperation to mitigate terrorism, illegal migration and other crises, not just in Nigeria, but across West Africa and the Sahel region