Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are collaborating in an effort to expedite development in the agriculture sector towards boosting food production, export agricultural produce and achieve food and nutrition security.
Speaking during the Business Roundtable Meeting at Transcrop Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari stated that Nigeria is endowed with agricultural potential and investment opportunities that if properly harnessed, would boost food production that can feed the entire nation and be exported as well as enhance the economy of the country.
According to the Minister: “It was part of a deliberate move to achieve food production and explore investment opportunities in the country, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia with a follow up meeting being held in Nigeria between the two countries to rekindle the earlier commitment.
‘’In prioritizing agriculture and food security, President Tinubu has left no one in doubt as to his willingness and readiness to accommodate a range of ideas that can sustainably develop and encourage investments in the sector’’
In his remarks, the Head of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Delegation and Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Engr Abdulrahman Alfadley said that they were in Nigeria to cement relationship between the two countries especially in the areas of comparative advantage including agriculture, investment, economy and job creation.
Earlier, Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Abdullahman Abdullazaq, pointed out that all lands belong to States ‘’ the Nigerian Governors were willing to channel the lands in their care for full agricultural venture for consumption and export’’.
Also, speaking at the event, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu appealed to the government of Saudi Arabia and Saudi private investors to invest in the Nigerian agricultural ecosystem.
He added that the Nigerian government is ready to partner with genuine investors to improve the nation’s agricultural system and achieve food and nutrition security.
In attendance were the Nigerian delegation led by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Terlumun Utsev, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu and Chairman Nigeria Governors Forum, Abdulrahman Abdullazaq and the delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led by its Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Engr. Abdulrahman Alfadley, Relevant Stakeholders ,among others.