President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday met with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Saudi Arabia.
Buhari welcomed the commitment of Saudi energy company, Aramco, and Public Investment Fund, PIF, to explore areas of collaboration for investments in Nigeria, including a partnership with the NNPC to revive the nation’s refineries.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the partnership was consummated during a meeting with the Chairman of Aramco and Governor of PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, on the margins of the Future Investment Initiative, FII.
According to the statement, the President said Nigeria had a lot to learn from the expertise and professionalism of one of the world’s leading energy company.
Speaking on the need to improve the efficiency of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, President Buhari said it is noteworthy that Nigeria’s energy company would soon embark on a diagnostic assessment of refineries, pipelines, depots and other infrastructure across the country to ascertain the level of collaboration with the Aramco.
‘‘Nigerian officials are ready to collaborate with you, they will identify their priorities and invite you for a meeting in the country so that you can go round to inspect the refineries and other oil facilities,’’ the President told Aramaco’s chairman.
In his remarks, Mr Al-Rumayyan affirmed the company’s position to promote business investment opportunities through technology across the energy sector, noting its interest in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The President instructed the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo and the Group Managing Director, GMD, NNPC, Mele Kyari to work with the Saudis and expedite the modalities for investments and collaborations in Nigeria’s oil and gas sectors.
The President also used the occasion to reaffirm Nigeria’s solidarity with Saudi in the aftermath of recent attacks on Aramco oil facilities, praising the kingdom’s recovery after the incident.
Good reporting but it didn’t covered the President Bihari’s talk on agricultural collaborations. We need that aspect too.