Lagos collaborates UAE on delivery of sustainable projects; Tinubu woos Arab nations on trade investment

Lagos State Government via the Office of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recently held a high-level strategic meeting with the Consul-General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate in Lagos towards implementing sustainable projects.

Special Adviser to the Governor on SDGs, Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih, who led the Lagos delegation to the Consulate Office in Victoria Island which had in attendance top management of both organisations explained that the engagement was centered on strengthening bilateral relations between Lagos State and the UAE as potential areas of collaboration and partnership towards sustainable projects and cultural exchange.

Finnih noted that the meeting signifies the deepening commitment from both Lagos State and the UAE to work closely together toward shared goals as the State Government continues to develop policies that would accelerate the delivery of global agenda across communities.

“By joining forces, pooling resources and sharing knowledge, we can make a real and tangible impact in our community, foster deeper collaboration and inspire positive change”, she maintained.

Oreoluwa affirmed that as the Office responsible for coordinating efforts to achieve the UN SDG Agenda 2030 within Lagos context, the SDGs Office will continue collaborating closely with the private sector, NGOs, academia and development partners to promote sustainable development initiatives with the greatest impact.

The Consul-General of the UAE Consulate in Lagos, Dr. Abdulla Al-Mandoos, revealed that UAE is fully committed to supporting the global agenda through sustainable projects and programmes in Lagos State. He pledged the consulate’s commitment to strengthen cooperation with the state to achieve the global goals.

“We are excited to further expand our partnership with the Lagos State SDGs Office, and work hand-in-hand on impactful projects that will not only benefit the local Lagos community, but also contribute meaningfully to the global efforts to address urgent challenges”, Al-Mandoos said.

According to him, this high-level engagement between the SDGs Office and the UAE Consulate is a promising step toward building a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future for Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole. It exemplifies the power of international cooperation between developing and developed economies to drive positive change.

The duo expressed determination to leverage their respective expertise, resources, networks and global influence to identify, develop and execute strategic sustainable development projects. The projects aim to drive economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability for the benefit of Lagosians.

Earlier, President Bola Tinubu in a bid to attract Foreign Direct Investment, FDI into the country on Sunday announced fresh moves to woo the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations to invest in Nigeria.

The disclosure was made by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale while briefing State House correspondents Sunday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ngelale said that the President will be heading to Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this week to attend the Saudi-Africa summit and the Arab African summit scheduled to hold on the 10th and 11th November, 2023 respectively.

He said that the President while in Saudi Arabia, would discuss several issues of mutual concern with respect to economic ties between the regions and with respect to the issues of counter terrorism, the environment and agriculture.

Ngelale explained that other areas for discussion will be in terms of accelerating the level of trade and investment between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the African continent.

“Obviously, President Tinubu, is very keen on ensuring that the Federal Republic of Nigeria within the context of the continent is in a position to maximally leverage on opportunities that will be afforded by the implementation of the African continental Free Trade Agreement, where we will be having a single trade market of over 1 billion Africans.

“The expectation according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is that by the year 2050, our market here on the continent would have surpassed $29 trillion.”

He further explained that at the Arab African summit holding on November 11, President Tinubu in his capacity as the chairman of the Authority of Heads of Government of ECOWAS will be taking part in the summit ensuring that he is at the forefront of advocating for deepening partnership of the two regions that is the League of Arab nations as well as the African Union with respect to integration in terms of infrastructure, facilitation and the establishment of a new high speed train network that would tie Arab nations from the Middle East and Northern Africa, to the rest of the African continent.