Nigeria-Brazil accords pertaining to commerce, aviation, energy transition, food and agricultural development, and many other areas will be expedited and technically streamlined, according to President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The president’s senior adviser on communication and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Saturday that he met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a bilateral meeting at the Copacabana Forte.
Additionally, Tinubu assured Silva that Nigeria’s economic changes under his leadership will increase the nation’s competitiveness internationally, especially in the agricultural sector.
The president claims that bureaucracy is a factor in the delays in achieving the potential of the agriculture industry.
To enable food sovereignty and export, he promised to remove any obstacles preventing the agricultural sector from reaching its full potential, including the production of animals.
Nigeria was already conducting reforms to reposition the economy for global competitiveness, especially in agriculture, where it already had a competitive advantage, the president said the Brazilian leader and team, according to the statement.
In the areas of trade, aviation, energy transition, food and agricultural development, mining, and the exploration of natural resources, President Tinubu declared that any complexities in agreements between the two nations would be simplified and expedited.
According to the President, Brazil is one of the top producers of food and agricultural products, and its R&D services have been model for most other nations.
Regarding livestock farming, President Tinubu emphasized his administration’s initiatives to increase investments in fisheries, poultry, and cattle rearing. He also mentioned that the blue economy offers Nigeria and Brazil the possibility of forming long-term alliances.
He declared that Nigeria was prepared for a solid alliance and prompt action to boost food production.
“By supporting the federal government’s efforts to use agriculture as a significant source of employment and resource mobilization, the subnationals play a pivotal role in Nigeria’s food and animal production,” the president remarked.
Eight months after negotiations for a bilateral air service agreement (BASA) began, Nigeria and Brazil formed a joint team on May 7 to finalize a direct flight deal.
According to Tunde Moshood, the minister’s special assistant on communications and the media, bureaucratic impediments had long held up the BASA.
The president of Brazil promises that all agreements will be regulated.
Silva promised that during Tinubu’s upcoming visit, all agreements with Nigeria would be regularized and that the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) would be promptly updated and signed.
Silva added that Brazil’s research and development institutions will work with Nigeria to improve cattle production, but that in order to see rapid results, the remaining bureaucracy between the two nations must be eliminated.
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Tinubu had repeatedly emphasized food security for Nigeria, according to Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security, who also spoke, and the mandate will be fulfilled through regional and international collaborations.
Nigeria already possessed a competitive edge in the manufacture of fertilizer, which Kyari pointed out could be readily increased.
Idi Maiha, the minister of livestock development, outlined three areas of collaboration with Brazil in his remarks: sanitary services, genetic material and new breed research, and health and disease management.
The governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, declared that the state governments will back the federal government’s framework for agricultural reform.
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.
Mohammed Mohammed, the director general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and Yusuf Tuggar, the minister of international affairs, were also there.
