G7 summit: Come With Nigeria’s ‘wish list’ Cameron Tells Buhari
G7 summit: Come
With Nigeria’s ‘wish list’
Cameron Tells Buhari
The British Prime Minister, David
Cameron, has urged President
Muhammadu Buhari to come before the
G7 industrialized nations with a “wish
list” when he shows up at its meeting
scheduled for June 7-9 in Berlin,
Germany.
Delivering this message to the new
President at a meeting on Friday shortly
after the inauguration, British Secretary
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
Philip Hammond, said Cameron had
requested for a list of what Nigeria
wanted to help succeed against the
current challenges facing the country.
“We are waiting for your own list,” said
the minister on behalf of Cameron.
This meeting was a follow-up to an
earlier one between the then President-
elect and Prime Minister Cameron.
At the meeting, commitments were
given to the incoming administration in
several areas, including the fight
against terrorism, power and energy
and such matters of common concerns
of migration challenges facing the
continent as well what he called
“intelligence fusion” to secure Africa
from global terror.
He also raised the issue of “free trade”
between the EU and Africa, a proposal
he said enjoyed the support of several
countries on the continent and in
support of which he sought to enlist the
backing of President Buhari.
Buhari in turn promised to prepare the
government’s aspirations for the
summit, which he said he will attend.
Han Changfu, the leader of the Chinese
delegation, who is that country’s
Minister of Agriculture, at a similar
meeting asked President Buhari to open
avenues for Chinese investments in
Nigeria.
China promised to help Nigeria out in
several areas, including agriculture,
power, railways and other
infrastructure.
The President of Congo Brazaville,
Dennis Sassou Nguesso, was also
among the several leaders who had
audiences with the President after the
inauguration on Friday.
The Congolese leader said he had been
mandated by other leaders in Central
Africa to seek a meeting with their
counterparts in the ECOWAS with a view
to tackling common challenges,
especially the one posed by terrorism.
Nguesso also requested Buhari to
assume his rightful place as the leader
of Africa.
Buhari agreed that the meeting holds
before the next African Union summit in
South Africa as suggested.
The Somali President, Sheikh Hassan
Mohamoud, asked for Nigeria’s help in
its bid to conquer terror and establish
control over the country’s territory.
Speaking while receiving Jacob Zuma,
the President of South Africa, Buhari
expressed his wish to work with him to
fight terrorism in Africa and outside the
continent.
The two leaders agreed to come to
meet and exchange state visits to
deepen the existing bilateral
relationships.
Newsweb Express
