BY BRIGHT JACOB
President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja today to attend the G-20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India, on the special invitation of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
His spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said in a statement on Sunday that on the sidelines of the Summit, the President will participate and deliver keynote addresses at both the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and the Nigeria-India Business Conference.
He said that the CEO Roundtable will be attended by leading industrialists in the Indian private sector, Nigerian industrialists, as well as senior government officials from both countries.
According to Ngelale, the President aims to leverage this platform to attract global capital and promote increased foreign direct investments in key labour-intensive sectors of Nigeria’s economy for job creation and revenue expansion.
“Moreover, he will use this opportunity to highlight Nigeria’s attractiveness as an investment destination, specifically outlining his cross-sectoral reform plan as encapsulated by the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Given the President’s renowned experience in attracting investment to Lagos State, leading industrialists have sought separate private engagements with him at the summit,” he said.
Ngelale revealed that the President’s itinerary will also feature bilateral meetings with a cross-section of world leaders from four different continents, representing both G-20 and non–G20 countries.
These engagements, he said, are geared towards strengthening bilateral economic, trade, and investment partnerships for mutual benefit.
At the G20 Summit, the Nigerian leader is expected to share Nigeria’s perspective on the theme, “One Earth-One Family-One Future,” which speaks to the global unity required to address the challenges facing humanity and the planet.
With its collective contribution of up to 80% of global GDP, 75% of international trade, and housing 60% of the world’s population, the G-20 constitutes a significant economic power bloc of socio-economic opportunity and geo-political stability.
While Nigeria’s membership of the G-20 is desirable, the government has embarked on wide-ranging consultations with a view to ascertaining the benefits and risks of membership.
This is consistent with the desire of the President to democratize foreign policy and articulate policy formulation and implementation through a Whole-of-Society and a Whole-of-Government approach that achieves the nation’s long-term strategic objectives. Once consultations are concluded, the government will decide whether or not to apply to join as appropriate. The participation of President Tinubu at the G-20 Summit in India is, in part, in furtherance of this objective.
Accompanying President Tinubu on the mission are the following members of his cabinet: Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy; and Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment.
Ngelale said President Tinubu will return to Nigeria immediately following the conclusion of the Summit.
