Buhari seeks greater collaboration to unlock huge potentials
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
President Muhammadu Buhari has called for greater global partnership to fully stanch the dire consequences of the pandemic whose latest deadly variant of omicron has triggered new lockdowns and air travel bans against some countries.
He urged world leaders to team up on Friday at Nigeria’s Day at Expo Dubai 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), stressing that the theme of the event, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, is a moral burden on everyone across national boundaries to collaborate for a better future.
‘‘The concerted efforts by world leaders, working together, enabled us to limit the catastrophic consequences of this pandemic,” he said.
‘‘Such level of continuing understanding and pragmatic partnerships are needed and must be reinforced to ensure that our world is a better place that addresses humanity’s common challenges to guarantee sustainable development and progress for the global community.”
Buhari explained that Nigeria, like other countries in the world, was impacted negatively by Covid, compounding efforts to tackle insecurity, corruption, and diversify the economy.
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Unlocking huge potentials
He said his administration has, however, registered significant progress in a short period of time and is still making headways in key sectors of the economy.
‘‘Therefore, the Nigerian delegation is participating in this EXPO with great prospects for positive outcomes, while assuring the world of our determination and readiness to partner with relevant investors in our bid to tackle a number of challenges to make Nigeria a better country.
‘‘Nigeria is participating in this epoch-making event in order to explore opportunities that are capable of unlocking the huge potentials that abound in our country, as it makes conscious efforts to be a strategic partner of choice for the global community.
‘‘It is my pleasure, therefore, to invite all participating countries, organizations and other private sector operators to take full advantage of opportunities being provided by the EXPO 2020, by linking up with the Nigerian team, to collaborate with us in diverse areas of interests for our mutual benefits.”
Buhari thanked UAE President Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for inviting him to the Expo and specifically to attend Nigeria’s Day event, which offers a great opportunity to showcase the potential of Africa’s largest economy.
He described Expo Dubai 2020 as the single most important global event of its kind in the Middle East, Africa, and the South East Asian regions in recent years.
‘‘We are proud to be a part of this dynamic evolution of pragmatic partnerships that are both creative and innovative for the progress of the country.
‘‘I heartily congratulate the UAE authorities for the painstaking work to create this state of the art complex that has connected our world within our fingertips as we share international best practices as well as opportunities that abound in all our countries.”