Nigeria/Saudi to rebound oil rice, cooperate on fighting terrorism

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By; Sunday Ode, Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ruler, King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz on Tuesday expressed commitment to a “stable oil market” and a “rebound of oil price.”
At a bilateral meeting between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia in Riyadh hosted by the ruler, the two countries agreed that their economies were tied to oil, saying that all cannot be well with them when the world oil market was unstable.
They therefore expressed commitment to doing all that is possible to stabilize the market and rebound the oil price, according to a statement by the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Sgehu.
The statement said the two leaders also agreed that terrorism posed a common threat to their states and would require close cooperation to prevail over the threats.
President Buhari who, the statement said, was making his first pronouncement on the invitation to join the coalition of Islamic states against terror spearheaded by the Saudis congratulated the Kingdom on its formation.
“Even if we are not a part of it, we support you. I must thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the recent creation of a coalition to address the menace of international terrorism. Nigeria will support your efforts in keeping peace and stopping the spread of terror in your region.
“This is in consonance with our own commitment and on-going efforts in seeking to stamp out Boko Haram terrorists from the West African sub-region and Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC),” the President was quoted to have said.
On global terror generally, the statement said President Buhari noted that “international terrorism made a statement by attacking one of the advanced countries by carrying out an attack on Paris in which 130 were killed. Now we have to come together to find a common solution to the problem of terrorism.”
He thanked the Saudi government for its continuing support to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, it stated.
The statement also quoted President Buhari as expressing regret that the late Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi recruited, trained and armed citizens of many states in the Sahel region, observing that with his fall, those mercenaries had returned to their countries, “doing nothing but to shoot and kill.”
He cited Burkina Faso and Mali as the main victims but expressed happiness that the countries bordering the Lake Chad had tightened their ranks to finish off the Boko Haram threat.
“Luckily, we have cultivated our neighbors. We are now working together against Boko Haram, otherwise the problem would have become worse,” the Nigerian leader said.
Buhari and King Salman expressed hope that the Libyan factions will soon see reason to reunite and restore fully their own country so as to save the world from further terrorism spin-offs from that country, the statement noted.
The leaders also dwelt on trade between their states and agreed to give fresh impetus to the joint commission previously established in order to boost commercial and other activities to unify their peoples, Shehu added in the statement.
In his remarks, according to the statement, King Salman commended the progress made by Nigeria in combating terrorism and promised to give further support and assistance.
The statement quoted him as welcoming the support of the Nigerian government for the new anti-terrorism coalition and implored the President to consider its full membership.
King Salman pledged his full support and cooperation to Nigeria under its present leadership and directed all agencies of his government to follow up on the discussions.
“I now instruct my team to go and sit down with your relevant agencies to push forward cooperation between our states,” the King was said to have concluded.

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