•Qatari, Nigerian Manufacturers To Strengthen Economic Cooperation
Mukaila Ola
Qatar Airways has launched its first direct flight from Doha in Qatar to Kano in Nigeria.
Speaking at the event which held on Wednesday, the Nigerian Ambassador to the state of Qatar, Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed, noted that the Qatar Airways has indeed made a wise decision by accepting his request to expand its operations to major commercial cities in Nigeria.
He noted that Kano is among the most densely populated cities in the country and the commercial capital of Northern Nigeria.
He further disclosed that, “As Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the State of Qatar, it is part of my cardinal responsibilities to promote political, economic, and socio-cultural partnerships that will lead to the realisation of mutual benefits.
“I have no doubt, the milestone we are celebrating today will bring the people of Nigeria and Qatar closer. This will therefore give them the opportunity to interact and explore areas of common interests. With such interactions, strong bonds are bound to flourish”, he said.
The Ambassador also noted that since the beginning of his diplomatic assignment in Doha, he has received several enquiries from both Nigeria and Qatar about various fields of human endeavours, adding that such curiosity would certainly lead to only one thing – establishment of sustainable win-win cooperation.
He expresses readiness to provide the necessary support in any area of need, in order to ensure that the venture is sustained and has achieved the desired objective.
In a related development, Qatari manufacturers and their Nigerian counterparts will brainstorm on ways to strengthen economic cooperation between their countries with match-making event scheduled for Lagos and Abuja in the face of increasing diplomatic ties.
The Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Nigeria Dr. Ali Ghanem Al-Hajri, made this known in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, stressing that the event organized by the Qatar Development Bank, will take place between Wednesday and Thursday in Lagos.
He said the event is aimed at “bringing together leading manufacturers from Qatar with their counterparts in Nigeria for the purpose of setting the foundation for a strong economic cooperation between Qatar and Nigeria.”
He disclosed that the Lagos event would be followed by an economic forum between stakeholders from both countries on Friday in Abuja.
The statement read: “The purpose of the forum is to enable the Delegation of Qatar Management Development Bank to meet and interact with high level policy makers of the Federal Government of Nigeria as well as the leaders of the business community in Nigeria.”
Both countries have been working towards increasing cooperation in the areas of agriculture, oil and gas, mining, and infrastructural development.
Nigeria’s President Muhamamdu Buhari was on a State visit to Qatar in 2016 while His Highness, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, also visited Nigeria in 2019 to boost trade and investment cooperation.