•Says president made 36 foreign trips across Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Americas

DejiElumoyein Abuja

The presidency, yesterday, disclosed that the international trips embarked upon by President Bola Tinubu since he assumed office about two years ago have yielded over $50 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Nigeria.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye, made this known while giving a mid-term assessment of the President’s foreign policy achievements.

He stated that President Tinubu had embarked on 36 foreign trips since his inauguration on May 29, 2023, visiting countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

These, he said, included Benin Republic, Chad, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, the Vatican, the United States, Brazil, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and China.

The former Ambassador added that several additional visits had been approved for the rest of the year, all aimed at engaging, deepening, and strengthening Nigeria’s bilateral relations with other nations.

According to Enikanolaye,  these diplomatic efforts have not only raised Nigeria’s profile globally but have also translated into tangible economic gains while there were investments attracted through these foreign engagements.

These, he said, included commitments from Sunil Bharti, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Indorama, Jindal Steel, Coca-Cola, Apple, Maersk, Arise, Shell, Afreximbank, companies from the Netherlands, and a waste-to-wealth industrial facility in Lagos.

The total value of the commitments, he stressed, amounted to over $50 billion.

The presidential aide said the inflows were a result of the administration’s economic reforms and effective foreign policy, noting that while the financial figures were significant, the skills and technology transfer that come with them were equally important but could not be quantified.

He also spoke about Nigeria’s relationship with China, which he said has been elevated to the level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership under President Tinubu’s administration.

This relationship, according to him, included key infrastructure projects, currency swap agreements, and other collaborative efforts.

On climate diplomacy, Enikanolaye noted that Nigeria has remained active in global climate change conversations.

President Tinubu, he said, has consistently raised the country’s environmental concerns, such as rising sea levels, the shrinking of Lake Chad, unpredictable rainfall, flash floods, and threats to food security while also advocating increased access to climate finance through mechanisms being developed internationally.

The ex-envoy also announced that Nigeria has gained 16,300 square kilometers of maritime territory under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, expanding the country’s continental shelf deep into the Atlantic Ocean and described it as a major achievement that offers enormous potential for maritime security and the exploitation of blue economy resources.

Dismissing criticism over the president’s frequent international trips, Enikanolaye said such engagements were pivotal to national development and global positioning.

He emphasised that what remained was for the outcomes of the foreign trips to be fully implemented to positively impact the lives of Nigerians.

“It is, therefore, ludicrous for anyone to criticise the participation of Mr. President at various international engagements, whether statutory or invitational.

“What is needed now is the full implementation of the positive outcomes of these foreign engagements, so their benefits are felt more directly in the lives of the Nigerian people,” he said.