NIGERIA AND BRAZIL HAVE AGREED TO COMPREHENSIVELY STRENGTHEN BILATERAL TIES IN ALL FIELDS 18-02-24
By Sadiq Aminu The countries reached the agreement when President Bola Tinubu and and his Brazilian counterpart, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss issues of common interest.
At the meeting, President Tinubu emphasised the strength of Nigeria’s economic potential and influence, saying that the country is witnessing a leap forward, despite some short-term reform pains, as his administration is removing encumbrances to business.
The President further explained that his administration was investing in critical sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, education, and agriculture to ensure the welfare of Nigerians, and to create sustainable economic prosperity for future generations.
“We have a very vibrant population of young Nigerians who are trainable, dependable, and should be empowered. The economic potential of Nigeria is enormous. We are ready to break all the walls standing in our way to progress.
“We are ready to fight corruption from top to bottom. We are ready to invest in critical sectors like healthcare, agriculture, education, infrastructure, and others. I have one of the most dedicated teams on agriculture,” he said.
Assessing Nigeria’s natural and human resource wealth akin to Brazil’s, President Lula da Silva made reference to the benefits both countries derived from their cordial relationship.
He noted that Nigeria and Brazil once had a trade volume of more than 10 billion dollars, which has now plummeted to 1.6 billion dollars, and said he was determined to improve on the strength of their bilateral relations.
“I am back to try to restore; to reclaim our good relations with Nigeria. I can not imagine that a country of 216 million people and another of 213 million people do not have strong relations.
“Mr. President, I am 78 years old. You are 71. What keeps me energetic is that I fight for a cause. The cause of my nation and people. A great cause is the elixir of sustained vitality for experienced leaders.
“Nigeria and Brazil need stronger relations from the academic viewpoint; from the cultural viewpoint; from the commercial viewpoint; from the agricultural viewpoint; from the industrial relations viewpoint, and from trade relations viewpoint.
“It is meaningless that there are no direct flights from Lagos to Sao Paulo and vice versa. I can not understand that. We have to sit at a table and find a solution for that. In aviation, there are many areas of potential collaboration with our manufacturers who seek to have a greater presence in Africa.
“I only have three more years left of my term, Your Excellency, to do everything I have not done yet. The time is very short. I am in a hurry to make my contributions to improve these relations with Nigeria. To make this happen, we have to put our ministers to work,” he said.
The two leaders agreed to work out the modalities for a state visit to Brazil by President Tinubu after President Lula da Silva had extended an invitation to President Tinubu.