President Bola Tinubu has stated that his administration will expedite and streamline the formalities associated with agreements between Nigeria and Brazil on a variety of themes, including commerce, aviation, energy transformation, food and agricultural growth, and more.
The president’s personal adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a bilateral meeting at the Copacabana Forte on Saturday, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
Tinubu also told Silva that Nigeria’s economic reforms under his leadership will make the country more competitive globally, particularly in the agriculture sector.
According to the president, bureaucracy hinders the agriculture sector’s potential.
He pledged to eliminate any barriers to the agricultural sector’s potential, particularly in the area of cattle production, in order to promote food sovereignty and export.
According to the statement, the President informed the Brazilian leader and team that Nigeria was already putting reforms into place to reposition the economy for global competitiveness, particularly in agriculture, where it already had a competitive advantage.
“All technicalities in agreements between the two nations will be simplified and expedited in the areas of trade, aviation, energy transition, food and agricultural development, mining, and the exploration of natural resources,” President Tinubu stated.
Read Also: Naira Cards Now Active for Global Use as Nigerian Banks Lift Longstanding Ban
The president claimed that Brazil’s R&D services have served as a model for the majority of other countries, given that the country is one of the top producers of food and agricultural products.
President Tinubu highlighted the steps his administration has taken to boost investments in fisheries, poultry, and cattle breeding in relation to livestock farming. He added that there are prospects for long-term partnerships between Brazil and Nigeria in the blue economy.
He stated that Nigeria was ready for a strong partnership and swift action to increase food production.
The President said that subnationals are essential to Nigeria’s food and livestock production, in addition to the federal government’s efforts to use agriculture as a significant source of employment and resource mobilization.
On May 7, Nigeria and Brazil established a joint team to complete a direct flight agreement, eight months after talks on a bilateral air service agreement (BASA) started.
According to Tunde Moshood, the minister’s special assistant on communications and the media, the BASA had been hampered for a long time by bureaucratic obstacles.
The Brazilian president attests that all agreements will be regulated.
Silva pledged to regularize all agreements with Nigeria and to expeditiously update and sign memorandums of understanding (MOUs) during Tinubu’s subsequent visit.
Silva stated that the residual bureaucracy in the two countries must be removed in order to achieve results rapidly. Additionally, he stated that Nigeria and Brazil’s research and development institutions will collaborate to enhance cattle production.
Speaking as well, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari said that Tinubu has underlined the significance of food security for Nigeria on numerous occasions and that the mandate would be carried out through regional and global cooperation.
Kyari said that Nigeria already has a competitive advantage in the production of fertilizer, which could easily be extended.
In his remarks, Idi Maiha, the minister of livestock development, emphasized three areas of relationship with Brazil: genetic material and new breed research, sanitary services, and health and disease control.
State governments would support the federal government’s agricultural reform framework, according to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
The bilateral meeting was attended by Governors Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
Yusuf Tuggar, the minister of foreign affairs, and Mohammed Mohammed, the director general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), were also in attendance.
