In an effort to encourage more investments into the country, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has met with Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, the Saudi Prince who has also been named by Forbes as the 5th richest man in the world.
During the meeting at the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Vice President acquainted him with the giant strides Nigeria is making in her quest for prosperity. He intimated the prince of the recently concluded privatization of the power sector, the opportunities that abound in the development of gas infrastructure as well as government’s plan to invest $1billion in the sector while seeking for more investors and assured the billionaire of the viability of the sector.
The Vice President briefed the prince about the development in the upstream and downstream sectors of the economy as regards marginal fields, refineries and chemical as well as fertilizer plants, among others. He also availed the billionaire of the opportunities in the transport sector such as the deep sea ports, railways and roads to be constructed on a public- private partnership.
Sambo also called for investments in the local sugar production, dams with facility to develop irrigation, the industrial framework for Nigeria in the automobile industry, development of steel and other solid mineral deposits, coal- to-power plant and the opportunities being unlocked by the Halal Meat Industry.
He informed the Saudi prince of the Centenary City Project and the need for private investments as well as the planned regional routes to connect Lagos – Benin Republic-Togo-Ghana-Cote D’Ivoire of which the agreement would soon be signed; assuring the prince that Nigeria would provide the enabling environment for investors to participate in the business. He thanked him for the confidence he has shown in Nigeria.
While responding, Prince Alwaleed said that he has a long-term investment in the oil & gas sector of the Nigerian economy, indicating that he is also involved in a chain of businesses in the hospitality industry, construction and many others. Some of his businesses, he mentioned are the Fairmont, Four Seasons and Citygroup.
The Saudi prince expressed his excitement with the growth rate of Nigeria and announced that he, alongside his partners, was currently executing Fund No.3 to tackle the African continent.
Prince Alwaleed al-Saud praised the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan, saying that the President was doing well despite the challenges of Boko Haram. He expressed his willingness to participate in the Nigerian business environment. “You cannot talk of Africa without talking about Nigeria,” he added.
Present at the meeting were: The Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu; the Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abubakar Bunu and his charge d’affaires, Umar Farouk as well as other top government officials.
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