Nigeria, Saudi Arabia sign deal to revive business council, expect billions in investment

Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to revive the Nigeria-Saudi Arabia Business Council, a platform for boosting trade and investment between the two countries.

The council was first proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz in 2019, but was discontinued during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The agreement, which was signed in Riyadh, covers cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, oil and gas, energy, telecommunications and technologies.

The Federal Government expects the deal to attract “immediate” multi-billion-dollar investment flows from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria.

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, who led the Nigerian delegation, said after a business round-table with Saudi officials: “We expect to see significant investment flow worth billions of dollars immediately”.

He also said: “They told us that they are in the process of making additional investment decisions in Nigeria, which they hope to close before the end of the year.”

The original news story was from Bloomberg.