Osinbajo seeks strong Nigeria-Sao Tome bilateral relations

Nigeria and Sao Tome & Principe’s Organised Private Sector ought to take advantage of investment opportunities in both countries as a form of strengthening bilateral relations, says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

The Vice President said this today during a courtesy call by the Prime Minister and Head of Government of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Jorge Lopes Bom Jesus at the Presidential Villa.

Prof. Osinbajo expressed the hope that businesses and private sectors will take advantage of investment opportunities and strengthen the relationships between the two countries.

“I would say that the relationship between our countries has been a very strong one and this is possibly the reason why there have been so many bilateral visits especially in the past few months” he stated.

Speaking about the Joint Development Authority established by both countries, the VP stressed that “there is a fantastic opportunity now to bring about the cooperation that is necessary.

“I agree with you that it is time to do something about the Joint Development and the Joint Development Authority, and even preceding that, the Joint Ministerial Council which is supposed to be a clearing-house for a lot of the cooperation that we will be engaged in” he added.

Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe established Diplomatic Relations in 2001. The cornerstone of the relations is in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ), a shared maritime border, which necessitated the establishment of the Joint Development Authority (JDA)

The reason for this relation was to jointly exploit and manage the marine and hydrocarbon resources therein for the mutual benefits of both countries.

In his own remarks, Mr. Lopes Bom Jesus emphasized the importance of working together. “To strengthen the bilateral relations between both nations, not only at the business level but at institutional and political levels as well,” he said.

To further deepen relations, Nigeria has rendered considerable assistance to Sao Tome. These include the deployment of Technical Aid Corp volunteers, donation, concessionary crude oil allocations, soft loan and electoral assistance.

Additionally, Nigeria donated some medical-related materials and equipment to assist Sao Tome at the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The Prime Minister had participated at the Nigeria – Sao Tome & Principe Investment Summit which was held from December 15-16, 2021.

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