Nigeria Takes Devt, Security Agenda to OIC Ministerial Meeting in Saudi

Nigeria has resolved to take a broad development and security agenda to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, seeking stronger partnerships on humanitarian response, youth empowerment, investment and regional security.

The Nigerian delegation, led by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, is scheduled to participate in the ministerial meeting on Thursday, August 27, as the federal government seeks to leverage Nigeria’s membership of the 57-nation organisation to advance national interests.

Enikanolaiye said Nigeria’s participation would be anchored on President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the administration’s four-D foreign policy doctrine of Demography, Development, Diaspora and Democracy.

Speaking to journalists before the delegation departed the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, the minister said Nigeria was approaching the meeting as an opportunity to secure practical partnerships capable of producing measurable benefits for Nigerians.

“This is a journey of strategic partnership and purpose devoid of ideological or religious fixation. Nigeria goes to Jeddah to advance cooperation that delivers real benefits to our people,” he said.

A major component of Nigeria’s agenda is the proposed operationalisation of a Nigeria-OIC Working Group on Humanitarian Affairs, which the government believed could strengthen cooperation in responding to insecurity and humanitarian emergencies in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel.

The proposed cooperation is expected to cover the rehabilitation of displaced and affected communities, interfaith dialogue and efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism.

The initiative came against the backdrop of persistent security and humanitarian pressures confronting parts of the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, where conflict, displacement and violent extremism continue to place pressure on communities and governments.

Nigeria is also expected to use the meeting to intensify its economic diplomacy, with the delegation presenting investment opportunities arising from the country’s ongoing economic reforms.