Mining, education take centre stage as Tinubu welcomes new envoys

The President received the Letters of Credence from the High Commissioner of Jamaica, Lincoln Downer; High Commissioner of Australia, Leilani Bin-Juda; and Ambassador of Romania, Florin Talapan, on Friday in Abuja.

Tinubu assured them of Nigeria’s support for a rewarding stay and reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining an open-door policy toward strengthening existing economic, cultural, and diplomatic relations.

Speaking when he received the High Commissioner of Jamaica, the President emphasised the importance of collaboration on trade, investment, and the Technical Aids Corps.

He reiterated Nigeria’s readiness to reactivate energy cooperation with Jamaica, particularly in the context of climate change and the utilisation of gas as a transition fuel.

‘’The essence of a relationship is to understand one another. With Nigeria’s energetic and talented youth, we have a cultural affinity with Jamaica and a lot of potential for cooperation in the areas of culture and tourism that will benefit the youth population of both countries,” he said.

The Jamaican High Commissioner conveyed his Prime Minister’s willingness for cooperation between Nigeria and Jamaica in various fields, such as energy, trade and investment, culture, and tourism.

He announced plans for a Jamaican business delegation to visit Nigeria later this year and invited Nigerian investors to explore opportunities in Jamaica’s special economic zones.

During the meeting with the High Commissioner of Australia to Nigeria, Tinubu expressed appreciation for the longstanding relationship between Nigeria and Australia.

He acknowledged the shared values and interests between Nigeria and Australia as active members of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, and other multilateral institutions.

The President emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation in mining, following recent initiatives by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, to deepen ties between the two nations concerning developments in the sector.

“The Minister of Solid Minerals was in Australia recently, and we look forward to further collaboration in this area. We are also ready to deepen our mutual cooperation in the area of education,” Tinubu stated.

The Australian High Commissioner expressed enthusiasm for further collaboration during her tenure in Nigeria.

“I am the first Australian indigenous person to be appointed High Commissioner to Nigeria. I am sure my tenure here will be extremely fruitful for both sides,” the High Commissioner told the President.

The Australian High Commissioner extended an invitation to Tinubu to consider visiting Australia during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa.

During the meeting with the Romanian Ambassador, Tinubu assured the ambassador that Nigeria would explore more opportunities for collaboration with the EU-member country.

The Romanian Ambassador expressed his commitment to strengthening ties between Nigeria and Romania, particularly in the education, energy, and defence sectors.

He announced plans to increase scholarships for prospective Nigerian students interested in studying in Romania.

“Nigeria is a second home to me, and I have lived here for many years. I have to give back every good thing I have received from Nigeria.

“My country is looking towards a strategic alliance with Nigeria in the areas of education, energy, and defence,” Talapan said.